


sibling rivalry

by yesternight



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: 2v1 which one gets to be tommy's new brothers uwu, Gaslighting, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Older Sibling Dream, Older Sibling Technoblade, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Overprotective Brothers, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo - Freeform, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), how tf do i tag im sorry this is kinda new for me, idk man tommy's screwed he's gonna live with either one of this men trying to baby, inspired by gay_gay_gay, no shipping thats kinda weird man, tommy innit is tired as shit, understandable who doesnt wanna baby the traumatized child, yeah i know you guys know that prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27685211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yesternight/pseuds/yesternight
Summary: all tommy wanted was happiness and for his country back, but three people he used to consider his older brothers had a different kind of happiness in store for him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, no shipping why u gotta be weird like that
Comments: 429
Kudos: 2110
Collections: MCYT, MCYT Fic Rec





	1. front.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006562) by [Gay_Gay_Gay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_Gay_Gay/pseuds/Gay_Gay_Gay). 
  * Inspired by [ooh look angst prompt wow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27489436) by Anonymous. 



╔═══════════════╗

**sibling rivalry.**

— _in which dream, techno, and wilbur fight who gets  
to baby the traumatized and tired 16-year-old  
_

©yesternight 2020

╚═══════════════╝


	2. wilbur's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wilbur wants his youngest brother back. this blonde, grinning bastard in front of him was certainly not him.  
> he wanted the tommy he was allowed to baby, not this soldier standing in front of him.

Wilbur misses the days when Tommy was just a child— innocent, bright, and so stupidly obedient.

He misses when Tommy idolized his big brothers Wilbur and Techno. When he’d cling to Techno and beg him to swordfight with him. He remembers that Techno would hesitate, because when Tommy was clumsy at nine, Techno was a prodigy at 14. Wilbur would watch their fights, watching Techno not show a single amount of mercy to the child and Tommy would immediately stand up every time he fell and charged at Techno without any sort of strategy. He’d get chastised by the half-piglin, but Tommy would always thrust his wooden sword forward with a resolve to win.

He leans back into his chair and hums. The timbre echoes and bounces off the walls of Pogtopia whilst he lets the memories of the past wash over him.

Tommy would barge into Wilbur’s room and demand that he teaches him how to play the guitar, much to his annoyance. Even when Tommy would bruise his little fingers and split them open, he didn’t stop strumming away at the guitar. But it sounded so awful and so offkey that Wilbur had to take the guitar away from him, telling him that he might as well be content singing along with him (though Tommy’s voice was scratchy wool while Wilbur’s was smooth water). Tommy, however, huffed and whined that he wanted to jam along with Wilbur too, and several days later Tommy showed off a simple song on the piano to the family.

Wilbur stares into the crackling fire. Tommy has always been a determined boy, hasn’t he? A stubborn brat who never really knew when to quit.

It helped him at best, it started wars at worst, but this time it was getting on Wilbur’s nerves.

Tommy used to be so obedient. If you’d tell him to run an errand to the store, he’d do it immediately, eager to please his brothers. If they wanted massages, he’d give them massages. Anything in his power he’d do it for his brothers. Phil, their adoptive dad, once voiced out his concerns, but Tommy brushed him off, saying that he was doing this because he loved them.

Now Tommy was a brat, a boy who thought wars had taught him everything he needed to know. Tommy was now a 16-year-old who’s stood in the face of death countless times and once offered a deal to seal L’Manburg’s freedom. Even though he acted confident and arrogant, those eyes weren’t that of a child. The way he’d look left and right as if expecting an attack was too alert. The way his mean facade falls into constant worry once Tubbo turns his back to leave is too tense.

Even the way he looks at Wilbur and Techno is different.

Wilbur sees how Tommy’s nearly given up on him.

Techno sees the anger that lights up in his little brother’s eyes every time he sees him.

So, _so_ different from the rosy-faced boy who’d run up to them so welcomingly. The fireplace roars a bit brighter, but it feels cold compared to the bundle of warmth Tommy used to be.

The makeshift cobblestone stairs creak under the weight of his youngest brother coming home, or at least, as home as Pogtopia could be. He’s covered in soot and dust and he’s bandaged his right hand. Wilbur’s figure isn’t exactly a welcoming one, but Tommy manages a grin at his brother.

“I’m back, Wil.” Tommy sets down his burlap sack, the minerals inside jingling and clanging. “I got us some diamonds and a fuck ton of iron. Oh, and some meat too. God, I don’t know how many fucking potatoes I can stomach any longer. And—”

Wilbur tunes out. He appreciates his brother’s attempt to make friendly conversation despite their tense relationship, but all of it is _fake_. Or maybe it isn’t. But Wilbur refuses to acknowledge whoever this is as his brother because the Tommy he knew would’ve gone straight to him for a hug and complain how awful and dark the mines were and how he wanted a lullaby from him.

He doesn’t like Tommy being independent. He wants Tommy to depend on him. Isn’t that what little brothers are for? To be clingy, needy boys who needed to be constantly coddled and babied? What is Tommy acting so grown-up for?

And he certainly didn’t like Tommy voicing out against him. Tommy never goes against him. He’s Wilbur, Tommy’s eldest brother and the person he learned the piano for just so Wilbur’s beautiful voice could be accompanied with not just the guitar. He’s Wilbur, the one Tommy would do anything for because he’s so cool and charismatic and tall and whatever Tommy says about him.

 _Where did his Tommy go?_ He laments, dark eyes watching him under the shadow of his hair.

_Where in the world did his little brother go?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wilbur's side !! will be posting techno's side and then dream and then the good shit
> 
> can anyone teach me how to do the inspired by thing? i wanna credit gay_gay_gay


	3. techno's side.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> techno wishes tommy would stop look at him like that, wishes he would stop pulling tubbo close when he walked past.  
> has tommy forgotten how much he loved his prodigy big brother?

Techno joined the Dream SMP to overthrow a corrupt government, as per his anarchist ways. He wanted to shed blood and bask in the glory of victory. That had been his goal since he joined the server and that hasn’t changed until now.

But he also joined to see his youngest brother’s smile again.

He’d been off in Phil’s server, farming potatoes behind the oak wood house the four of them used to call home. He’d been resting, letting himself enjoy the peace before he went into battle again. Phil would build one of his projects, letting Techno help him from time to time, enjoying each other’s presence before one of them would start going in and out of servers again.

They’d keep in touch with Wilbur and Tommy who were currently running a country in another server. Munching away on another baked potato, he’d listen to Tommy’s excited babbling about his new home and how it was really nice and friendly and how Techno and Phil should see it sometime.

Then the cross-server calls would decrease bit by bit. if Tommy would call up Techno every two days or so, it turned into five, then a week, and then… silence. Techno would find himself staring at his communicator, wondering what happened.

And then the communicator rang after God knows how long, and Techno swore that he never picked it up so fast before.

“Tommy—”

Sniffles and whimpers sounded at the other side of the comms. “T-Techno, help, _please_.”

Tommy’s silent but desperate plea was enough for him to start packing things up and head out. He wrote an apology note for Phil, feeling a bit guilty that he’d have to leave him alone again. But Phil was a grown man whereas Tommy was an innocent child. He could manage himself.

When Techno entered the world and met Tommy riding upon a horse, he couldn’t find the child-like glimmer in his baby blue eyes anymore.

Techno’s been in enough wars to know that Tommy was scarred.

He walked into Pogtopia, a grim ravine with lanterns scattered throughout to provide some light. He met Wilbur too, the eldest and most charismatic of all brothers reduced into a man who’d lost everything. Tommy, however, stood strong and determined.

_How he’s grown_ , Techno thought.

But when his little brother, turned to look at Techno one last time before heading off to sleep, Techno found the admiration and respect Tommy held for him ever since he was young in his wide, boyish grin. Tommy trusted him.

Of course, he would. Techno is the prodigy middle child, adept with the sword and shield. Tommy would trust him with his entire life.

Until Techno watched Wilbur descend into madness and plotted to blow his L’Manburg into smithereens. Until Tommy tried to talk some sense into Wilbur and turned to him and said, “back me up, Techno!” but he looked at him blankly and shrugged, only replying with a “Tommy, I’m an anarchist. Of course I’m going to side with Wilbur.”

Until fireworks exploded in the air— blue, red, and white. The anguished yell of “Tubbo!” in the distance and an enderpearl thrown in front of Techno’s face before Tommy’s figure replaced it and he stabbed him in the gut with a sword before he scurried to his friend dying in the box and pulled out a regeneration potion.

Until Techno slowly held his side, eyes and hands shaking when he realized that Tommy, _Tommy_ , had stabbed him. A feat he was never able to pull off before. Until he reached an arm out to his youngest brother and called out his name, but was only met with teary angered eyes as he tried his best to regenerate his best friend. Until he watched as the boy cradled in Tommy’s arms burst into a mix of ashes and code.

Until he and Tommy were in the pit, Techno the victor as he stared down Tommy’s bleeding and beaten body. Wilbur watched from the sides, a satisfied smirk as he let his baby brother learn his lesson. Tubbo cried out his best friend’s name, about to go to him like how Tommy did at the festival, but Niki had to hold him back.

Tommy would trust him with his entire life until he didn’t anymore, the respect he held for Techno gone.

He knew that Tommy wouldn’t hesitate to point a sharpened sword at his neck if he could.

He knew that the Tommy he knew was long gone, just a broken boy in his place, doing everything he can for his country and best friend.

Not his family.

Just L’Manburg and Tubbo.

He joined the server to see Tommy smile at him again. Somewhere along the way, Techno had lost it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> techno's turn :) imagine crushing your baby brother's hopes and dreams and still wonder why he keeps glaring at you from the corner. couldn't be me
> 
> also... kudos and comments??? O////O maybe??


	4. dream's side.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream ruffles his blonde hair, pulling aside his mask so he could gaze down at tommy’s wide grin.  
> dull gray eyes stare back at him as the arrow in his head lets the blood paint the water red.

Many have heard of a family of talents, of men who were capable of building up countries, killing armies with one sword, and captivating audiences with songs of long-lost stories.

There was Philza, a winged man who seemed to never die. He built up nations, traversed across the hottest parts of the Nether, flew so high up into the sky that no one ever knew when he would come down. When asked when did he last face death, the familiar red screen that everyone knew of, he would chuckle and say that he almost forgot how it looked like.

Wilbur sang songs of abandoned countries, of hearts broken and mended, of flowers and trees that once stood tall now reduced into ashes in the wind. He was unfairly attractive and in whatever server he went, a crowd was sure to follow. He had a voice so soft, yet so heart-captivating, that his ballads would engrave themselves in your heart and never leave.

Wearing a crown rumored to be that of a fallen king’s, Techno took after their father’s undying nature. At sword-point, his enemies would stare up into his cold eyes, glowing behind a boar’s skull. The kill would be so swift, so lethal, that they’d have no time to scream. With his skill and cruelty, he continued to take down government after government, rampaging servers for his own delight and hatred for authority.

But despite all these promising men who he knew would bring more fame and power to his lands, Dream only invited their youngest, a young boy who wore a mischievous, wide grin as a trademark. And despite all the quarrels and bickering he did with his other citizens, the lands seemed to be a bit more exciting and livelier than it ever was.

Watching from afar as he continued to bicker and banter with his friends, Dream knew that he’d never regret bringing in Tommy Innit Watson.

**_One… Two… Three…_ **

****

Out of all the words in the dictionary, ‘troublemaker’ was the one most befitting Tommy Innit. He started petty fights, insulted people, and was always bordering controversial. Dream was his exhausted guardian, always dragging him away by the scruff of his neck when Tommy was getting too heated. _Babysitter_ was what George and Sapnap called him. Dream never felt so tired.

But Tommy was just as adventurous as he was troublesome. He had flighty feet, itching to run towards the nearest adventure. He stood his ground and showed intelligence that wasn’t expected of him. He had Phil’s wanderlust in his veins, had Wilbur’s ability to capture attention, and was slowly growing up to be the great warrior that Techno is. And if Tommy would perhaps focus a bit more on practicing rather than scamming people, maybe he’d be as good as his brothers now.

But Dream was rather grateful that Tommy was more focused on having fun rather than pushing himself to be the greatest. He was having fun, wasn’t he? Always fooling around, looking for adventure and treasure chests buried under the earth, building stupid things, and rolling around the grass with his best friend.

This was how children were supposed to act. Living, laughing, and loving, breathing in the scent of fresh air and waking up with the sun on his face.

_“You’re my best friend, Tommy.”_

_Tommy stills, eyes wide at Dream’s sudden declaration. He averts his eyes, but Dream grins when he sees the red blush spreading on his cheeks and neck._

_“Don’t be stupid. What’s people gonna think when they find out that I have another best friend than Tubbo?”_

_Later that night, Dream finds a cake sitting on the table in his base. A note is folded on its side and he picks it up._

_‘Niki told me to help out in the bakery in exchange for some money. These are the leftovers. -Big T’_

_He asks Niki over comms if these were leftovers. Niki laughs lightly and says Tommy wanted to do something for him. Dream can’t help the stupid grin on his face._

**_Four… Five… Six…_ **

Tommy was needy and clingy, even though he refuses to admit that he is. But Dream liked it when the blonde would say that he better not leave or he’d ‘start stabbing shit’. Dream would chuckle and go along, giving him tips and tricks and poking fun at him. He’d scare him a bit with a threat to push him into the Nether’s lava lake, or slightly push him off a cliff. Tommy would always cling to him with huffed pleads to not push him or he’ll _die_.

The kid was also the type to seek out praises in a subtle (or at least, as subtle as the loud Tommy could be). Dream would roll his eyes and go along with it as he boasted at how great and amazing he was, because hey, the kid was cute when he was proud of something that he’d done.

_Dream pinches Tommy’s cheeks, soft and littered with small nicks and cuts here and there. Tommy looks up at him questioningly._

_“What’re you doing, Big D?”_

_Dream makes his hands retreat, but they don’t stay away from Tommy much longer, rising to his hair to give it a little pat. Dream’s mask is pushed aside, and he sees the fond smile on his face._

_“Nothing, just proud of you.”_

_Tommy’s heart jumps a bit at that. His_ real _brothers never said anything like that to him at all. He doesn’t even have the energy to make up a comeback. He buries his head into Dream’s chest._

_“Thanks,” he mumbles._

_Dream takes note of the crack in his voice and the wetness on his hoodie. He holds Tommy closer._

**_Seven… Eight… Nine…_ **

****

Dream regrets bringing Wilbur Soot into the server. The moment Tommy ran up to him with a wide smile and stars in his eyes, he felt like something dear has been stolen from him. The nasty feeling grows stronger when he sees them strolling around the SMP looking for brewing stands and when he sees the musician invite Tommy into a rather suspicious-looking van.

It’s a feeling so terrible that he waged war on L’Manburg, determined to explode it into bits and pieces. But no matter how much destruction he created, the feeling continued to eat away at him and seeing Tommy and Wilbur standing together in a sea of fancy uniforms made it worse.

(Those uniforms don’t even look nice, Dream bitterly thinks. He liked Tommy’s red-and-white shirt on him better, liked the boyish atmosphere it brought with him. He hates seeing Tommy on the other side of the battlefield.)

_“You stupid, green idiot!” Tommy screams at him, surrounded in a land full of rubble and dust. Tubbo and Fundy try to help each other up, and Wilbur’s doing his best to restrain Tommy._

_“How about you and me 1v1 right now, huh, big man? You think you can just explode this fucking place? Who the fuck do you think you are?”_

_Dream doesn’t dare look at Tommy. He doesn’t think he can stomach the anger Tommy has burning in his eyes._

**_Ten paces. Fire!_ **

****

_“Hey, big man, I think you’re a cool fella.” Tommy grins at him. “You’re a quite alright lad if I say so myself.”_

“Are you ready, Tommy?” He coolly looks at the soldier standing on the other side of the bridge. He stays quiet and points his bow at him.

_“You alright there, Dream?” Tommy leans forward, worry evident on his face. “You’ve been zoning off for a while now.”_

_Dream blinks for a few moments and smiles. “Aww, Tommy are you worried for me?”_

_The blonde glares at him and marches away. Dream follows by with a mischievous grin as he listens to Tommy’s familiar ranting._

The moon feels awfully big over him. The air is too cold and suffocating. The sky is full of stars right now, but the water only shows him an endless void. He aims at Tommy and with a silent prayer, he shoots the shot that decides everyone’s fate.

_“You’re never gonna leave me, right, big man?”_

_Tommy’s voice feels awfully raw. Dream takes a seat next to him on the bridge, but Tommy doesn’t look at him._

_“’Cause all my brothers keep leaving me alone… and I feel so useless standing next to them. Because no matter how hard I try to chase after them, I’m never good enough.”_

_Dream sighs and pulls aside his mask so he can see Tommy better. He pulls him to his side and Tommy huddles closer._

_“You don’t have to chase after them, Tommy.” His hair feels soft under his fingers. “You’re fine as you are now.”_

**“TOMMY!”**

Dream watches as the boy he loves like a brother stares back at him, blood running down his face. He stumbles back a few steps and falls into the water.

He drops everything and runs to his brother, heart in his throat and pulsing like a time bomb. He fumbles around with his inventory as he frantically searches for a regen potion.

 _Tommy, Tommy, Tommy_.

The boy who grinned at him and took him along with his many adventures.

_Tommy, Tommy, Tommy._

The boy who had the bluest blue of eyes.

_Tommy, Tommy, Tommy._

He reaches Tommy. Dull gray eyes stare back at him as the arrow in his head lets the blood paint the water red.

_Tommy, Tommy, Tommy._

**The boy who valued loyalty above everything else.**

Dream slowed to a stop and stared blankly at the crowd fussing over the boy's dying body, gritting teeth and clenching his fists.

**Then why did he betray _me_ , then?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like to abuse italics for flashbacks, if you couldn't tell
> 
> also I'm so sorry :(( this chapter didn't turn out as good as I hoped it would but I have no idea what to do with it so take it please
> 
> and i tried to weave together fluff and angst?? clearly did not work because this chapter turned out badly oop


	5. what makes tommy, tommy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tommy is cool, brave, and loyal. 
> 
> tommy is naive, loud, and brash. 
> 
> tommy is—

Tommy’s never felt so tired in his life.

He’d come to the SMP to find his purpose, to find a calling different from his family. The youngest, useless, annoying child came to a different land to find himself a new identity.

Instead, he found war and betrayal. Found isolation and hunger.

Tommy, only 16, felt twice his age. He has scars on his skin and scars on his mind, has seen his friend die in front of him countless times. He's witnessed the downward spiral of his big brother’s sanity and saw his prodigious brother use his talents to blast a firework into his best friend’s chest.

The memory comes back to him. Red, white, blue, crimson red, Tubbo’s cold hands, tears blurring his vision, Techno’s side bleeding out, Wilbur in the distance staring down at them. He shudders and continues the tiring trek back to Pogtopia.

Pogtopia. The little ragtag group he made with his brothers to win back their land. Pogtopia. The place where he used to feel safe, his brothers' gallant figures reassuring and familiar.

Every step towards Pogtopia makes the dread inside him grow. He doesn’t want to come back to that cold ravine, where he can hear Wilbur’s incoherent ramblings and Techno’s thundering footsteps. Where their dark eyes seemed to be pierced on him every time he crosses paths with them. But if he doesn’t return, who will protect Tubbo and Niki? God knows what his brothers would do to them the moment he looked away.

He grits his teeth and urges himself to go faster.

When he does enter, he’s greeted with Wilbur’s soothing humming. He recognizes the tune almost immediately, a hymn they wrote together for the land they fought for. A song that once brought pride and strength to the child, now a grim reminder of Wilbur’s rotten plans to destroy that very land.

Wilbur sits in front of a makeshift fireplace, looking as tired and empty as ever. He used to be so charming and attractive, had the face of a man that could woo an entire crowd of men and women alike. Now his eyes were so hollow and cold it’d immediately make anyone cower and run.

His eldest brother looks up and immediately pins his dark gaze on Tommy who was descending the steps. Tommy swallows nervously and meets his brother’s eyes.

“H-Hello, Wilbur.” Tommy fakes a grin and curses the waver in his voice. What’re you doing here, big man?”

Wilbur’s smile is chilling. “Nothing much. Just waiting for the arrival of my beloved youngest brother~” He makes a show of checking the clock in his hands. “And I was quite worried you know, when he didn’t come home after the sunset.”

His smile drops. “Tommy, where the fuck were you?”

Here it is. Wilbur’s skepticism and baseless accusations. He never seems to get a break from him and his stupid fucking paranoia. Tommy glares back. “I was out getting ores and blaze rods from the Nether if it’s any of your damn concern.”

Wilbur scowls. “Of course, it’s my damn concern, Tommy. You’re my brother and under the protection of Pogtopia which is under me. And you know fucking well that you’re not supposed to be out after dark, much less in the goddamn Nether.”

“What’s it to you if I go out a bit, huh? I’m not a child anymore.”

“You’re fucking 16.”

“I’ve been in enough wars to know how to fucking handle myself,” Tommy snaps back. “I’m not some kid you can baby anymore, okay? I’m out here doing my fucking best so we can win back Man— L’Manburg so that I don’t have to worry about you pull a terrorist attack on a bunch of innocent people.” He stops and takes a good look at his brother’s face (Serves you right, he thinks when he sees the hurt expression on his face) before continuing. “So leave me the fuck alone, Wilbur. I’m tired right now and I’m not in the damn mood for you to accuse me of being a traitor again.”

Wilbur wants to scream and pull Tommy back by the hand, but the boy is quick to flee to his room.

God, Wilbur hates it when he talks back.

* * *

Techno hears the argument, but he chooses to not step in.

When Tommy leaves, Wilbur lets out a loud groan and falls back to sit onto a rock. His head is buried in his hands and the barely incomprehensible mumbles of ‘damn that idiot child’ and other more curses directed towards their youngest brother fills the walls of Pogtopia. This time, Techno reveals himself.

Wilbur knows the middle child is here when he feels the tense atmosphere he carries around with him. He doesn’t look up when he says “What do you want, Techno.”

Techno replies, “You seem distraught.”

The eldest clicks his tongue in annoyance and looks up at the other in a ‘really?’ sort of way. “Well, _obviously_. Tommy won’t listen anymore, that gremlin of a child. Just because he’s been in one war doesn’t mean he’s all-knowing already.” He grits his teeth. “He’s so… He’s so fucking annoying, you know? He used to be so obedient and cute and now he’s all… that.”

The pink-haired hybrid, ever the straightforward one, manages to summarize Wilbur’s rant. “You want him to go back to the way he once was.”

“Is that so bad?”

“Tommy’s human, Wilbur. You can’t force someone to act the way you want.”

There’s a silence after that and Wilbur ponders over his words. The silence breaks soon.

“No,” Wilbur smiles. “I definitely can.”

* * *

“Tommy?”

Hunched over his ender chest, the blonde whips his head up to glare at Wilbur in the doorway. “What.”

The eldest lets himself in the cramped room, handsome face looking apologetic and sad. Tommy slams the chest close and stares at him with crossed arms.

There’s a moment of tense silence as Wilbur tries to find the correct words to say, but Tommy isn’t exactly helping his nerves when he keeps shooting him daggers from across the room. Finally, he sighs aggravatedly and looks at Tommy.

“Look, I know that I haven’t exactly been… the best lately,” Wilbur starts. “And after our fight just now, I just… I just felt really guilty. Tommy, I want to make it up to you. Would you please forgive me?”

Tommy only stares back incredulously with a raised brow. “What’s gotten into you?” He asks aggravatedly. “Wilbur never fuckin’ apologizes. Are you plotting some shit to get back at me?”

 _Shit_ , he thinks. Sometimes he forgets that Tommy is smarter than he seems.

But ever the great actor, Wilbur shakes his head in faux sadness. “No, no, I just don’t feel right about anything anymore.” He laughs drily. “I was the one who dragged you into this mess and forced you to fight wars children shouldn’t be in. I watched you duel Dream, give up one perma-death, and trade away your discs for our independence, and yet I continue to yell at you and tell you that _you_ were the one who fucked up so —”

“You realized all that?”

Wilbur snaps his head up when he hears Tommy’s voice crack.

There his brother stands; his blue eyes wet with tears he tries to hold back. Tommy’s shaking, vulnerable, weak, moved by the little speech Wilbur gave. The older one lets out a soft smile and holds out his arms.

Tommy crashes into them, his thin body shaking as Wilbur holds him close. Wilbur smells like the ashes and coal of the ravines, the fire of their dusty makeshift fireplace, but somehow Tommy feels like he’s closest to home right now. He snuggles his head into Wilbur’s chest.

“L’Manburg was just supposed to be you and me,” Tommy mumbles into his shirt. “I-I was afraid that you forgot.”

Wilbur combs through Tommy’s hair affectionately. “Never,” he whispers. Right now, he doesn’t feel like he’s acting. Right now, he’s just a normal older brother with a broken younger brother.”

“Come on,” Wilbur smiles down at Tommy who sniffles and wipes away his tears. His thumb strokes his cheeks tenderly. “You must be starving.”

* * *

Tommy’s cheeks redden when he recalls their awfully tender exchange in his room just awhile ago. He decides to hide his embarrassment by busying himself with the mushroom stew ( _Not potato stew… and Tommy thanks the Creator)_ Wilbur made. The said brother sits across him, just watching and observing. He laughs when Tommy glances at him curiously.

“Are you enjoying the food that much?”

“Are you kidding?” Tommy grins for the first time in a while. “I can’t remember when’s the last time I ate food other than potatoes! This is the best thing I’ve had in like… forever!”

Wilbur laughs. “You used to be like this, you know. Always smiling and always chasing after big brother Wilby and Techie.” Tommy grumbles at the mention of his old nicknames. “Seeing you like this… I don’t know, made me remember the old times when it was just the three of us and Philza in his lil cottage and farm.”

Tommy looks up at the mention of their adoptive father. “You reckon we can meet Phil again?” He asks. “I wanna meet him again. I just wanna go back to that house and sleep for a long time.”

Wilbur smiles at the thought. “Yeah… it’d be great if we went back, huh?”

“Definitely!” Tommy grows even more enthusiastic at the idea. “We can help Phil with one of his builds and you can make your new songs and Techno can teach me how to fight properly!” Tommy stands up and grabs his brother’s hands. “Wil! We can —”

_Huh?_

The world is turning on his heels and there’s a dull ache at the back of his head, tugging and aching and blocking out everything. He stumbles backward and falls on his back. The granite scrapes at his pale skin, but they’re nothing compared to the horrible feeling spreading throughout his entire body.

Wilbur is calm when he pushes his chair back and walks to the fallen boy.

Tommy stretches a hand out towards Wilbur, thinking that his dearest brother would help him.

His heart drops when a smile spreads across Wilbur’s face, a mocking laugh thundering in his ears and his skin on fire as Wilbur fondly caresses his cheeks.

“Tommy,” Wilbur coos. “It’s time to go to sleep, yeah?”

Tears prick at Tommy’s eyes. _Why?_ Just when he thought that he and Wilbur finally fixed their relationship, Wilbur immediately stabs him in the back like this.

 _Always getting betrayed left and right._ That’s who Tommy is.

Gritting his teeth, he musters up every single ounce of strength he has left and runs out of the ravine.

-

_My body feels heavy_.

Betrayed, yet again, by the brother he used to look up to. He continues to run, sneakers against the grass and the wind whistling in his ears.

_I want to sleep._

Not yet, he tells himself, not yet. Not when he can still hear Wilbur’s singsong voice calling out his name in the nearby distance.

 _I want Tubbo_.

He isn’t here with him. Where are he and Niki? The dull headache won’t let him ponder over their whereabouts.

“Tommy~” Wilbur’s voice is getting nearer and nearer, and Tommy’s pace is getting slower and slower. “Toms! Toms, my little brother, come back to your big brother Wilbur, okay? You liked my mushroom stew, didn’t you? I’ll make you more! Just come back to me, okay? I won’t hurt you.”

_You already did. So, so many times._

This was the final straw, the last betrayal. Tommy doesn’t think he can handle anymore heartache.

“Tommy?”

He flinches at the sound of his name and looks up to see Techno staring down at him in concern. The full moon casts a halo over his head and Tommy feels like crying.

 _Techno, The Blade, his savior_. Tommy crashes into Techno and wraps his hands around his body for long-needed comfort. Because unlike half-insane Wilbur, Techno has his morals even with his violent anarchist ways.

“Techno— Tech, _Tech_ , you’ve got to help me, _please_.” He’s crying like a fucking child but Tommy can’t help it. He’s scared, _so_ scared, and he wants someone to help him. “Wilbur— Wil’s gone insane. He drugged me, Tech. He drugged me! He’s trying to kill me Techno please, please, please, _please_. I don’t wanna do this anymore I wanna go home Tech—” Tommy erupts into a sob. “I’m so _tired_.”

His big brother’s calloused hands bring him closer as Tommy grips and sobs into his chest. His hands rub circles into his shaking back and continue until Tommy’s erratic gasping finally calm into steady breaths. Techno lifts Tommy’s head gently.

“Are you okay now?”

Tommy snivels like a little child, but he nods. He really isn’t, but Techno is here to keep him safe. Maybe he can finally sleep.

“You finally found him, huh?”

Alarm jolts Tommy’s tired body and he’s gripping Techno tight, ready to flee with his only sane sibling. But Techno only stares back at Wilbur and clutches Tommy tight.

“Te—chno?” Tommy whimpers, grimacing at his iron grip. “Techno _please_ let’s go. Wilbur’s gonna kill me Tech, _please_.”

“Killing?” Wilbur echoes behind him, displeased at the accusation. “Drugging, maybe? But not killing.”

He presses a kiss to Tommy’s forehead just when he feels lightheaded and faint.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if my Tommy were to be dead after all.”

-

Tommy’s falling deep, deep, deep.

Drowning, just like the time he got shot by Dream.

He wants to cry, he really does. But he’s done enough crying that the tears won’t fall.

He’s left to deal with this painful ache in his chest. Alone. Like he always is.

 _Always getting betrayed left and right_.

That’s what makes Tommy, Tommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man don’t you hate it when your two older brothers are so obsessed with you to the point of drugging you like #firstworldproblems smh 🙄
> 
> aLSO DEC 2 STREAM HOW WE’RE DOING FELLAS IM SO NOT OKAY WITH DREAM TREATING TOMMY LIKE SHIT THIS DOESNT GO WITH MY ONIICHAN DREAM AESTHETIC BUT AT THE SAME TIME MANIPULATIVE DREAM IS MAKING ME GO BRRRRRR


	6. where is family?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where was his family gone off too?  
> two imposters take his brothers places.

“Toms, are you alright?”

The soft voice of Wilbur coos above him, a warm hand on top of Tommy’s forehead. The younger boy coughs and winces at the strain it has on its body. He shakes his head weakly and leans towards Wilbur’s comforting head.

“N-Not fine,” he groans out quietly. “Hurts. A lot.”

Wilbur smiles gently and wipes away the sweat forming on Tommy’s head. “What hurts, Toms? I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happening, you know?”

“Everything.” He clutches at Wilbur’s shirt, teary eyes looking up at him pleadingly. “Wilbur, _please_.”

The older boy looks at his feverish brother fondly. “Fine,” he sighs and pushes away. “I’ll get you some soup to warm you up, ‘kay? Sleep here and be a good boy.”

It’s been a couple days since they had Tommy in their tight, loving grasp. His captivity started off quite rocky, with him kicking and biting like a feral dog. He’d yell out strings of curses till he eventually broke down into sobs, repeating a chant of ‘ItrustedyouItrustedyouItrustedyou’ over and over again.

That wasn’t exactly what Wilbur had in mind when he and Techno locked in Tommy, and hearing their dear brother hurl profanities at them was getting quite tedious and boring. Thankfully, Wilbur had found a way to make Tommy fall into a state of sickness and hopefully, establish their roles as caretaker and child.

He hums happily as he makes the mushroom stew Tommy loves so much. He’s just so adorable now that he’s so helpless and pliant. Wilbur’s hand still tingles from when Tommy nuzzled into it after finding out how comfortingly warm his heat is. His wide, dulled over eyes would look up at him pleadingly for any comfort and his hands would tug on his shirt to beg him to stay.

Tommy is such a needy child and Wilbur thinks this is the best thing to ever happen to him.

Mushroom stew ready in his hand, Wilbur creaks the door open and pops his head in to check if Tommy was still sleeping. Sure enough, he lay in his bed, tossing and turning and panting out as his temperature rose. Wilbur tsks condescendingly with a shake of his head, leaning down and brushing Tommy’s hair to the side.

“What a poor child,” he whispers quietly. “Don’t worry, Tommy, big bro Wilby’s here, okay?”

* * *

“That’s it, just swallow slowly.” Tommy winces at the ache in his throat when he swallows down the soup. At the starting stages of his fever, he’d snap back at Wilbur and Techno who tried their best to help him. He could do this on his own, damn it, he isn’t a fucking _child_. But when he tripped over and tears spring to his eyes when the ache pounds his body useless, Wilbur kneeled down and grinned at him.

“Need some help?”

What Tommy wouldn’t do to slap that fucking grin off Wilbur’s face. But right now, he knew he had no choice to rely on his half-insane brother _even_ if a nagging feeling in his brain said he was probably the source of all of this.

The door to the unknown room they locked him in creaked open, revealing Techno’s grand stature in the doorway. Tommy stiffens at the sight of his second brother.

He isn’t sure why he trusted him back then in the forest, the damned pig. He’s an anarchist, a chaos-instigator. Hell, he fuckin sided with Wilbur after their whole fight about the bombing. Tommy glares softly at the pink-haired man entering the room. For a moment, Tommy had wished that he’d protect him like how he used to back then.

_Protect him._

That’s what his whole family used to do. Phil would scoop him up in his wings whenever little Tommy was paralyzed with fear. He’d whisper to his ears comfortingly, the gentlest father he could ever ask for. _“My sweet boy, what are you so afraid of? My Tommy is far bigger than any danger. You’re a big boy, aren’t you?”_ And Tommy would sniffle and hug Phil tighter, hoping to be in his sturdy cradle for just a bit longer.

Wilbur would sing songs to him on his guitar whenever he’d wake up from a nightmare, or cheer him up with jokes and funny stories. When Tommy was deep in his own void of self-doubt, Wilbur would pinch his cheeks out and stretch them out to a smile. _“Why so glum, TommyInnit? Is the big man hiding something from his biggest brother, hm?”_

And then Techno would hide him behind his back when the other kids in the village tease and mock him for his laugh or for the fact that compared to his legendary family, Tommy was dull and talentless. Techno glared at them from underneath his boar’s mask and scoop a sniveling and snot-covered Tommy up into his arms. _“Don’t cry, kid. You’ve got lots of time to be your own legend. Don’t let those brats tell you otherwise.”_ Tommy would smile at his brother’s words and nuzzle closer, his warmth a comfort to the child.

And now…

_and now…_

Tommy tears up, burying his head into his knees.

_My family’s gone._

Phil, away and distant, Wilbur with only explosives in his brain, and Techno with blood and anarchy as his priority.

Where did Tommy fit in? Is this how they showed their love to him? Drugging him and locking him away?

Couldn’t they just smile at him like how they used to?

“Tommy?” Wilbur’s soft voice is laced with genuine concern. His calloused hands stroke Tommy’s hair and the bed dips down to accommodate Techno’s weight. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have anyone anymore,” Tommy sobs into his knees. “All of you left me already.”

“Oh no,” Wilbur murmurs and brings Tommy close to him. Techno wraps his velvet coat around Tommy like a warm hug. “Don’t think that, bubba. Everything’s fine, alright? Your big brothers are here, okay?” He lifts Tommy’s tear stained face and wipes them away. “Techno and Wilbur, like how it’s supposed to be. You’ll be fine. You believe me, don’t you?”

Biting back his tears, Tommy nods weakly. He’ll let himself believe those lies for now.

* * *

In the mainland SMP, Tubbo is having a breakdown.

“Where is Tommy?!” He screeches, slamming his fist into the rocks of Pogtopia. Niki tries to calm him down, but the boy can’t calm down when his best friend has been missing for days. Quackity is in distress too, his usual grin no longer plastered on his face.

“I’ve been searching day and fucking night to find Tommy with not a single clue to tell me about his location. Hacking can’t be done without me accidentally messing up this server’s code _and_ the insane man and the anarchist pig that _shot_ me are also gone!” Tubbo whips his head to glare at the masked man lurking in the shadows. “Do _you_ know where he is?”

Dream pulls his mask aside to display the frown on his face. “For the last time, Tubbo, I’m not behind this.”

Tubbo snorts disbelievingly. “Oh, yeah, sure. Like you aren’t the guy who supplied Wil with bombs and gave Techno supplies. You probably helped them with taking away Tommy, didn’t you?!”

“In what way would taking away Tommy benefit _me_ , Tubbo?” Dream glares at him, but Tubbo doesn’t falter and glares right back. “Tell me. Now.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tubbo sneers. “To see us all distressed and panicked like this? You’re probably getting a real good laugh from seeing this, huh, big man? You fucking _sadist_.”

“Tubbo,” Dream’s voice gets louder with anger. “ _I_ care about Tommy too. I won’t allow anyone to hurt him, I swear on that.”

Tubbo laughs dryly. “Well, I didn’t see any of that compassion when you fuckin’ shot my best friend off that bridge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> q: how did wilbur get tommy sick?  
> a: he sneezed on him


	7. lying pig (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream's jealousy arises.  
> techno's softer than usual.  
> tommy's just bitter.

“Wilby,” Tommy whines out, tugging on his brother’s brown coat. Wilbur directs his attention at the boy nestled in his lap. “Need water.”

Wilbur sighs in disappointment as he lightly flicks Tommy’s forehead with a frown. “Tommy,” he starts sternly. “What happened to your big boy words?”

Tommy, about to _die_ from how scratchy and dry his throat is, would have strangled Wilbur for that had he been a tad stronger. But too weak and paralyzed to even lift a single finger, he tugs on Wilbur’s coat harder and looks at him pleadingly. “ _Please_ , Wil, I—” He burst into a coughing fit, and Wilbur finally handed him the glass of water on the table.

Stirring the boiling pot of stew above the fireplace, Techno watches his brother coddle/torture the youngest. “You really should just have given him the water when he first asked.” Tommy silently agrees. He’d asked first about five minutes ago, but Wilbur had been so fucking patronizing when telling him to say ‘please’ that he stubbornly (and stupidly) decided not to. Some weak resistance would have satisfied Tommy, but his throat was becoming too unbearable to handle. He weakly drinks the water while Wilbur brings the glass to his lips.

Wilbur laughs at Techno. “Maybe I should’ve, but where’s the fun in that?” _Fucking prick._ “Now that our Tommy’s been reduced to a babbling, whimpering child, I think it’s the best time to reinforce the manners he lost.” He strokes Tommy’s face and smiles. “Isn’t that right, Toms?”

Tommy grumbles a little, but he nuzzles into Wilbur’s warm palm. Despite the fact that he’s been kidnapped and brought to somewhere he didn’t know; Wilbur’s touch always calms him down. Wilbur coos at the sight.

Techno huffs and starts pouring the stew into wooden bowls. He sets aside one and starts mashing the meat down for Tommy to easily chew and swallow. “You’re too obsessed over Tommy, Wil. Do you know that? If anyone else was looking at you guys, they might have called you a creep.”

Wilbur rolls his eyes. “Don’t fucking pretend like you don’t hog Tommy to yourself every night in bed,” he retorts. “I think you hug him too tight. Toms might suffocate one of these days.”

The warrior opens his mouth and closes it again, glaring back at Wilbur before handing him the stew. He grumbles something under his breath and starts eating his food.

Wilbur ignores his own bowl of stew, too eager to start feeding Tommy. He blows on the spoon and pulls down Tommy’s chin with a gentle thumb. “Say ‘ah’ Tommy,” he whispers and Tommy follows suit, swallowing down the warm soup. This continues on, until Tommy shakes his head and Wilbur frowns.

“Tommy,” Wilbur says. “You have to finish your food. You won’t heal if you don’t eat.”

 _That’s because you keep drugging me, dipshit._ But Tommy only whines and burrows his head into Wilbur’s side to say that he didn’t want to eat anymore. Wilbur sighs and gives Techno a look.

“I’ll finish it,” Techno offers. “You put Toms to sleep.”

“Alright,” he sighs and starts to stand with Tommy cradled in his arms. Tommy clutches onto Wilbur’s clothes for steadiness. “I’ll come back to eat my share. Watch out for any mobs.”

At their makeshift tents, Wilbur places down Tommy onto the sheets and feels up his forehead. “You’re not getting any better, Toms,” Wilbur sighs and places a cool towel on his head. “We’ll start moving again tomorrow, so sleep up and regain some of your strength.” He moves to leave, but Tommy grabs his sleeve and looks up at his big brother.

“Where are we going, Wil?” He asks quietly. “I- I don’t wanna leave the others behind. I don’t wanna leave Tubbo or Big Q or Niki or Dream behind.” His eyes gloss over with tears. “Wil— I wanna go back.”

Wilbur sighs and sits back down, pushing back Tommy’s fluffly blonde locks. “We can’t go back Toms, alright?” He cups Tommy’s cheeks and wipe a tear away. “The SMP isn’t safe for someone like you. You’re too loyal and you always get hurt for that. Techno and I are just trying to look out for you as your brothers. No one there cares more about your wellbeing than us.” Wilbur’s eyes darken. “No one cares about you enough.”

“But Tubbo—” Tommy whimpers. “I want Tubbo.”

Wilbur grits his teeth and his chocolate brown eyes seem to dull and lose their light. The air seems to vanish from the tent, because Tommy suddenly finds himself unable to breathe. “Tubbo doesn’t care Tommy. When has he tried to protect you? It’s only you who’s doing the protecting. You are the one who’s always giving. Tubbo’s never tried to protect you, has he? He’s _using_ you.”

“That’s not—”

“Hey, look, if it makes you happier, Tubbo can come to visit.” Wilbur smiles at Tommy, and his eyes aren’t scary anymore. “He can come chat and play with you again back in our old cabin.”

Tommy looks confused. “Our old… cabin? You don’t mean—”

“It’s exactly what you think I mean.” Wilbur’s smile grows wider. “We’re coming back home, Toms. We’re going back to Phil.”

“Home?” Tommy repeats, dazed at the news.

“Home.” Wilbur wipes away his tears. “So you don’t have to worry anymore.”

* * *

“Tubbo this, Tubbo that,” Wilbur seethes, kicking a dry log and glaring at it. “It’s always fucking Tubbo. He should be drugged out of his fucking mind already and yet he’s still able to think sentient thoughts and it’s that damn brat he keeps thinking about!”

Techno looks a bit proud at that. “Well, if he’s still able to think properly after all those dosages, then I definitely trained him well.”

Wilbur directs his glare at the indifferent middle child. “ _Not_ right now, Techno.” He shrugs off his coat and stretches out his arms. “It’s probably your fault why Tommy’s always picking fights and running around with a sword.”

“And it’s your fault why the kid’s always scamming people and insulting everyone he ever meets,” Techno coolly shoots back. “If anything, the reason why Tommy’s the way he is right now is probably because of all of us.”

Wilbur keeps quiet, wince on his face evident as he stares at the stew. “Phil did like exploring the woods with Tommy back then.” He huffs a laugh and shakes his head. “Maybe that’s why Tommy can’t stay still.”

The fond memories of their quaint little family hangs comfortably in the air, even after they’ve finished eating their dinner.

Ah, family.

They’ll have it soon enough.

* * *

Dream examines the entire vicinity of Pogtopia to search for clues, but jagged rocks and wooden makeshift bridges don’t really have much to offer. The brothers had completely left the area with no signs of them at all.

“They must have really wanted to leave if they didn’t want us to find them,” Dream mutters to himself and heads out of the ravine to clear his head.

The air tonight is cold and freezing and he wonders what poor Tommy is doing tonight. He pities the boy, whisked away by his one insane brother and the other a lawless warrior. Those two probably couldn’t be able to take care of Tommy properly.

Dream sees the way Wilbur looks at Tommy, all possessive and dark. He remembers the smug smirk on his face when he whisked away Tommy by Dream’s side on his first day on the SMP. There was a coiling feeling at the bottom of his stomach when he watched Tommy cling to his brother’s side. But Dream, who could have everything he wanted in just a snap, felt helpless as he let the boy slip away from his fingers.

He also felt the same loneliness when Technoblade came to the SMP in all his majestic glory, and Tommy was immediately all over him. Dream watched from afar as Tommy tried to impress his brother as much as he can and stared at him all sparkly-eyed. But unlike Wilbur, Techno wasn’t rude enough to send him side smirks. He had liked Techno enough to offer him rare supplies, but still, it still felt like he had robbed him.

Everything was almost going perfectly for Dream too! Techno had killed Tommy’s best friend, and Wilbur was well on his way to self-destructing insanity. He could already imagine Tommy running into his arms for comfort, sobbing into his green hoodie. Dream would pet and comb the boy’s fluffy hair like how they used to, and all would be perfect.

It would have ended like that, but those batshit brothers of his decided to kidnap him and keep him who knows where.

Dream blinks out of his trance and realizes that he’d walked quite a distance. He sighs and looks up to the sky, a blanket of white stars and a glowing half-moon. Is Tommy staring up at the same night sky or was he unconscious and hurt?

Dream’s vision flashed red. He needs to find him– and quick.

His heightened senses pick up on the scent of burnt wood and he scans his surroundings to find the source. Plumes of smoke come up from within the forest, its source glowing bright and orange.

A campsite. Dream readjusts his mask and summons his axe.

Dream’s footsteps are light, not even a rustle in the forestry. It’s years of experience of being both the hunted and the hunter. Dream slips behind a tree and peeks out.

His green eyes widen behind the mask.

There he is, his beloved Tommy. Tired, shaking, and cold, Tommy sits upon a rock and stares at the sky. His electric blue eyes no longer have their spark, all the childishness and determination gone.

Dream’s grip tightens around his axe. Those damn brothers. They don’t know how to properly take care of Tommy.

He’s about to step out to whisk Tommy away before any of his brothers could come and destroy this perfect opportunity. But a familiar figure, royal and grand, makes his way towards the tired child with a fond yet sleepy look and a royal gown in hand.

He grins under his mask.

He’s hunting tonight, and pork is about to be served.

* * *

Tommy slips out from his tent in the dead of the night. His body is creaking and weak, and he can barely even prop himself up. But he manages to make his way to a smooth stone and sits upon it, and he welcomes the cold wind biting at his pale cheeks.

His body is so _numb_. Tommy needs to feel something, needs to make sure that he’s still alive. He lets the cold air tighten around him and wishes it’d just suffocate him.

Staring blankly at the sky, he barely registers the heavy footsteps behind him until Techno’s velvety gown is wrapped around him. Warmth takes over, but it is not unwelcome. He snuggles into the gown and its comfort while Techno takes his place next to him.

“What’s the matter, kid?” Techno asks, voice as monotone as ever. But Tommy has known him for years and is experienced enough to pick out the underlying tones beneath it. He detects the worry and is a bit irritated when Techno is also part of the problem. Nevertheless, he sighs and is thankful for the concern.

“Oh, you know, just keep getting drugged and being babied by my two brothers that I used to look up to a lot,” Tommy grumbles. Hey, just because he’s happy that Techno’s concerned doesn’t mean he’s not gonna act all bitchy about it. “My life’s going _great_.”

Hurt flashes on Techno’s usually stoic face. “Tommy.” He puts a large calloused hand on his shoulder. “Wilbur and I are trying to protect you from the SMP.”

“I don’t want protection!” Tommy snaps back. “I can– I can fight, you know? I’ve fought in plenty of wars, I was the one who gave L’Manburg its independence. I know I’m not as good as you, Tech, but I can still hold my ground–“ he coughs and splutters before continuing “–okay? I’m not _good_ but I’m getting there!” Tommy’s eyes tear up. “Why do you both insist on treating me like a child?”

“You’re still a child, Toms,” Techno scoffs. “You’re 16.”

“I’ve fought in–!”

“Wars, yes, yes. I know.” Techno rolls his eyes. “Wars don’t mature you, Tommy. Getting yourself killed and killing other people makes you less of an adult and more of a monster. That’s why Wilbur and I are trying to protect you from becoming one. We’re only doing what’s best for you.”

The blonde huffs. “By constantly drugging me?”

“We wouldn’t have to drug you if we know you won’t fight back.” Techno then mumbles to himself, “But Wilbur does love seeing you very docile.”

He sweeps his long hair out of his eyes. “The point is, Tommy, Wilbur and I are your brothers. Tommy, look I–“ Techno sighs frustratedly at what he’s about to say next. “Look, I know don’t say this kind of stuff very often, mostly because it’s lame and cheesy. But Wilbur and I, along with Phil, love you a lot, okay? And wow, lame, but it’s true.” Techno brings him to his side where Tommy nuzzles closer to his chest. “You know what our family is like, Toms. We’re full of adventures and wonders, but we’re also monsters and killers. Wilbur and I… we don’t want you to grow up like us. And I’m sure Phil wouldn’t want that either.”

The grass sways in the wind and the night creatures sing their little tune like a nicely woven melody. Two brothers, one cradled in the other’s strong arms, cast their shadows across the grass. It’s a beautiful painting, but one green eye flashes underneath its mask from within the forest.

“But Tech,” Tommy mumbles into his clothes. “Wil– Wil is so _mean_.”

“We’ll take care of him later, okay?” Techno murmurs back, softly petting the boy’s hair. “Forgive him for now. You know how his mind’s all messed up right now. Your brother Wilbur’s lost everything, don’t let him lose you too.”

“Which is why–“ Techno’s warm hug turns suffocating and Tommy looks up in surprise at Techno, whose face had turned dark. His red eyes glare at something lurking in the forest. “Dream, don’t think I don’t see you there.”

A low chuckle rings through the air as the hooded figure steps out from the shadows, a sly grin stretched across his face.

“What a surprise,” he hums. The netherite axe glints intimidatingly when it catches a sliver of moonlight. “Any second later and I was going to shoot an arrow through your dirty lying mouth, _Technoblade._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yoooOO i so want to write a babbling mindbroken needy tommy but idk where to put it in the plot? like i need dependent tommy so bad
> 
> also guys imma be real with you I have no idea how to end this story
> 
> like as much as I love this story I also have other story ideas (still Tommy centric duh) I want to work on:
> 
> • overprotective & obsessive! tubbo & exiled! tommy   
> • tommy & dream stockholm syndrome kinda esque protege au 😳😳 pog


	8. back to the days.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy is far too gone into Dream’s eyes. They look exactly the same back to when things used to be all peaceful and fun on the server. When wars were just for fun and for stupid things like armors and discs. When Dream and he would just play around and joke and make fun of each other’s accents.
> 
> Back to the days when Wilbur and Techno weren’t here.

The air is suffocating and thick with tension as two powerhouses stare down each other during the dead of night. One man holds a brother close to his side, while the other nonchalantly switches an axe from side to side. Techno narrows his eyes.

“I am many things, Dream.” He holds Tommy tighter and he winces. “But I am not a liar.”

“ _We’re only doing what’s best for you,”_ Dream mockingly repeats Techno’s earlier words and scoffs. “I overheard your little conversation. Drugging a kid? What kind of sick fucks are you? You don’t deserve to even be near Tommy, much less touch him.”

He points the axe towards Techno’s neck. The netherite shines and winks like a star.

Techno narrows his eyes. “Dream, you don’t want to fight with me.”

“If it’s for Tommy, I’ll gladly risk it.”

Tommy’s eyes blink at Dream’s words and a warm feeling blooms throughout his entire chest. It’s warmer than Techno’s cape or his arms wrapped around him. He doesn’t feel threatened, doesn’t feel the echoes of past betrayals calling out to him. Tommy looks towards Dream.

His eyes shine with hope. For the first time in a long time, Tommy felt safe.

Dream’s smart and fast, like an acrobatic with nimble legs. Techno’s swings are heavy and slow, but they leave permanent scars. But Dream can outsmart him, had almost outdone him, in a match long ago for their wealth and pride on the line. Dream will find a way to save him.

There’s a reason why Dream was chosen by the System to be an Admin, not Techno. He can win this fight if he puts his all into it.

Tommy prays silently to The God who watches over every server in the universe. He prays that He gives Dream the strength.

Techno unsheathes his sword and pulls Tommy behind his back. When the two netherites meet, sparks fly everywhere and the screeching of metal on metal fills the cold night sky.

They go on like this, like a dance on their own. Dream dodges and slides smoothly, his haunting mask not giving away any weakness he might show on his face. Techno is more dominant and overpowering when his footsteps leave patterns on the ground and yet he’s elegant and regal all the same. Two powerful entities, the warrior and hunter, go against each other in a competition on who gets to keep the shivering boy behind the hybrid.

Tommy knows he can run. He can run behind Dream, give Techno less of an opportunity to pull him back to him and crazy Wilbur. But he’s frozen, he’s frozen in place while his sight darts back and forth from them both.

Running feels like a betrayal. Tommy doesn’t betray. He doesn’t want to break his brothers’ hearts.

While the two rivals continue to clash and clang their weapons against each other, a third player shows up. He’s less skilled, more brains and insanity than muscle, and in his hands is another dose of drugs. He looms over his unknowing youngest brother; hair shadowing his eyes and presses the needle to his neck.

Dream is faster. Ever the nimble one, he swoops the axe and knocks Wilbur backward. The needle flies midair before coming back down and Dream catches it in the other hand.

“You tried to drug Tommy, _again_ ,” he spits out, pure disgust and distaste in his eyes. “You absolute fucking psycho.”

Wilbur chuckles and wipes the blood from his mouth. “I’m only trying to make my baby brother have a good night’s sleep.”

Disgusting, disgusting, _disgusting_. To think that he’d still have the audacity to make up lies on the spot where he was caught red-handed. He wants to kick Wilbur and grind his heel into his neck, but Tommy is still watching and Techno has a sword pointed at him, so he refrains from doing so.

“Tommy, do you see what they’re doing to you?” The boy flinches at his name. “They don’t love you! They just want you as their plaything. They want a docile and weak brother to have power over!”

 _They don’t love you_.

God, that hurt more than Tommy would’ve liked.

“We just want what’s best for Tommy,” Techno growls behind him. “You have no business interfering in our family relations.”

“I _do_ have business when Tommy is being literally drugged right in front of my very eyes!” Dream snaps back. “Tommy, your family is full of psychopaths. Come with me, Toms.“ Dream’s tone gets softer and he pulls his mask to the side. Dream’s green eyes look fond and tender. “Let’s go back home.”

“The SMP is not his home!” Wilbur yells and glares at Dream. “It will never be! Tommy, don’t—“

Tommy is far too gone into Dream’s eyes. They look exactly the same back to when things used to be all peaceful and fun on the server. When wars were just for fun and for stupid things like armors and discs. When Dream and he would just play around and joke and make fun of each other’s accents.

Back to the days when Wilbur and Techno weren’t here.

Dream’s eyes promise him a future just like the past. He reaches a hand towards that future. Dream takes his hand too.

“T–Tommy?” Wilbur stares at the both of them wide-eyed. “You’re gonna leave us?”

Tommy doesn’t say anything. Dream pulls him to his side and flashes the brothers a smug grin. Wilbur’s vision goes red.

“Fine,” he spat out. “Fucking _fine_! Go back to that SMP, go back to those stupid wars and that stupid fucking Tubbo of yours.” He glares into his brother’s shaking eyes. “But just know, you’ll be crawling back very soon. Because your part of this fucking family, Tommy. You’re just as messed up as the rest of us.

**“Don’t you fucking forget that.”**

Dream shoots a look towards Wilbur. “Tommy doesn’t need to hear the rest of your lies. You and Techno have done enough damage to him.” He pulls Tommy back and looks at him. “You’ll be fine now, Toms, alright? We’re going back.”

When Wilbur and Techno watch as the pair leaves in silence, the middle child is the first to break the silence.

“Tommy will come back,” Techno says, almost like it’s a fact.

Wilbur grins a little. “Technoblade never lies?”

The hybrid nods with a little grin of his own. “Technoblade never lies.”

“After all, Dream is every bit messed up as both of us.”

* * *

Dream tucks Tommy into a warm bed, the warmest bed he’s had in days. It’s less because of the fireplace crackling in the background, but because of Dream stroking his hair and rubbing circles on his back as he drifts off to sleep.

“Dream?” Tommy murmurs.

“Yeah, Toms?” Dream whispers back. “What is it?”

“You’re– You’re not gonna hurt me right, like what Wil did?”

“Of course not, I promise you that.” Dream smiles. “When we get you rested enough, I’ll let you back into the SMP. You don’t have to be part of Manburg. You’re still welcome into my lands.”

He sniffles. “Where’s the drug you got from Wil? You’re not gonna drug me with it, right?”

“Never,” Dream softly promises. “Drugging you is the last thing I will do. I’ve thrown it all away and you can rest easy tonight.”

Tommy never gets to see the guilt in his eyes when Dream looks over the trash bin.

The needle lays inside, used and empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bITCH TECHNO STANDING UP FOR TOMMY BUT IMMEDIATELY PULLING THE FAVOR CARD HOE PICK A SIDE DO YOU WANT TOMMY SAFE OR NOT
> 
> THE MANS BEEN THRU ENOUGH BETRAYALS STOP FEEDING HIM MORE TRAUMA I SENSE IT I SENSE IT SO MUCH TECHNO'S GONNA PULL A DAMN ERET
> 
> hmph this is why I do what I do. everyone obsessing over tommy will keep me pogging thru the pain


	9. perfect little brother.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream wants to form a little brother.  
> tubbo has his best friend back  
> but not for much longer

Dream knows it’s bad.

He’s just saved Tommy from two very obsessive brothers who had been repeatedly drugging him. He knows he shouldn’t do it to the boy. He’s been through enough, and Dream is his savior.

But Tommy’s sleeping face looks just so precious and Dream knew that he wouldn’t be seeing much of it as soon as he wakes up. Just because Dream saved him didn’t mean that he didn’t kill the boy in a duel, set explosives underneath his nation, and held a sword to his neck plenty of times. He knows he’s one of the many reasons why Tommy is screwed up on the inside, and he wouldn’t push it past Tommy to hold some distrust against him.

But Dream misses the days when he and Tommy would just joke around and play sword. He misses Tommy yelling out to him from far away and cling to him like an overly attached younger brother.

No Wilbur… No Techno. Just Dream and Tommy.

Dream knows he shouldn’t be doing this, but he still pulls out the needle.

 _Just for a little while,_ he tells himself.

Tommy stirs. “You’re– You’re not gonna hurt me right, like what Wil did?” He asks.

Dream replies with “Of course not, I promise you that.”

He’s… He’s not hurting him.

He just wants to look after him a little bit longer.

* * *

“Dream, don’t go,” Tommy whines into the hoodied man’s chest. His fever is acting up again, leaving the boy’s skin cold and numb. Dream supplied the warmth he needs and Tommy isn’t quite ready to let him go yet.

Dream sighs. “Tomathy, I need to get some more herbs for your fever.” He brushes his hand over Tommy’s burning forehead. “You haven’t healed yet from the drugs Wilbur injected into you.”

I _injected to you,_ Dream’s guilty conscience adds on. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. Tommy hears the burden-heavy sigh he lets out and looks up at Dream with concern.

“Dream?” Tommy calls out quietly. “Are you alright?”

Dream flutters his eyes open and sees shining blue eyes looking up at him. He pushes all guilty thoughts away and smiles down at Tommy. “I’m okay, Toms. Just a bit tired from all the stress the SMP and your brothers are giving me.”

The young boy’s eyes flicker with guilt. “’M sorry,” he mumbles. “I-I didn’t mean to stress you out.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Dream tries to reassure Tommy. “I’m not stressed because of you, bubs. I’m stressed because of everyone else, but not you. _Never_ you. You’re too precious and adorable.”

Tommy puffs his cheeks in indignation. “I am _not_ adorable.”

Dream’s chuckle makes Tommy’s chest swell with comfort and familiarity. “Alright, Toms, whatever you say. I’ll be back.”

* * *

_Oh_ , this is getting bad.

Tommy is too adorable, too clingy, and needy for Dream’s own sanity. When Tommy clung to him and asked him what’s wrong, Dream had to resist the urge to pinch his cheeks and just hug him till he squeezes his lungs out.

The perfect image of a little brother, Tommy is. Hiding a tender heart behind a façade of unwavering confidence and loud laughter, Tommy has the ability to warm the heart of a man who has attained godly powers. Dream’s been through endless cycles of war and death, and when finally, peace has come to settle at last, someone dares to break it.

More often than not, Tommy is the one to start these wars, but Dream is an understanding man. When raised in a household of legends known for spilling blood, violence will be the only thing you’ll ever know of.

Which is why Dream has decided it upon himself that he will be the one… to tame Tommy.

Break down the barricade of faux confidence and cleanse his mind of violence and danger.

Is he just as bad as Wilbur and Technoblade?

Of course not. Dream will _never_ be as low as those two brothers. He’s going to revert his family’s mistakes on raising a perfect little brother.

* * *

“Tommy?”

Tubbo’s eyes widen when he sees the familiar blonde tufts and signature bright red. The green neckerchief he had gifted Tommy is wrapped snugly around his skinny neck, but despite the bright colors Tommy dons, his physique looks weak and dull. Tubbo’s eyes shine with tears of relief.

“ _Tommy,”_ Tubbo sobs out, numb feet pushing themselves into a run as he rushes at Tommy and the man-god at his side. He can’t help himself when he leaps at a weakened Tommy and tackle him to the ground in a tight hug.

“Tubbo,” Tommy laughs. He embraces his best friend with just as much tightness, even if his feeble muscles whine and groan with restraint. “You’re so clingy.”

“Shut up,” Tubbo whispers back. Tears run down his cheeks as he continues to hug his friend like he would fade away at any second. “I missed you– I missed you so much, Tommy. I thought they did something horrible to you. I thought I’d never see you again.”

People who’ve heard of the return of the lost boy come to the clearing to find the two friends in a tight embrace, too scared to let go of each other. Dream sighs at their side and adjusts the mask.

He’ll let them have their time.

* * *

Today is a happy day for the people of Pogtopia and their allies.

Everything was so unbearably dull and hopeless without their driving force by their side. Tommy, for all his reckless bravery and irrational decisions, was the one who gave hope and light to them. The one who tried his best to convince Wilbur that blowing up Manburg wasn’t the right choice, the one who always tried to look at the positive side of life.

Tommy is back. Even if Technoblade and Wilbur are gone, as long as they had hope on their side, there will be a way.

But they aren’t gone, despite everyone’s beliefs. No, they hide away in the corners of the coal-dusted ravine, burning eyes staring straight at a man clad in green.

Dream lifts his head toward their direction. The smile on his porcelain mask taunts them into another fight over a broken boy.

They are sons of a family of legends. Dream is a man of godlike abilities.

Tommy just wants to find a home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man i just had to churn out a chapter so the plot is gonna finally because GUYS ?/ EVERYONE I HAVE AN IDEA
> 
> how about ranboo v tubbo just fighting over tommy :)))
> 
> anyways tommy is gonna betrayed so much next chapter and hopefully he finally fucking breaks I'm sick of him staying sane


	10. so fucking jealous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is it wrong to miss the past when your present is just pain?

Tommy looks up to the sky, where the eagles soar and the clouds aimlessly drift by. The heat of the sun makes him lightheaded and right now all he wants to do is sprawl across the grass and take a nice nap.

Dream does not approve. He kicks the boy’s side lightly and gives him a look.

“Tommy.” Dream’s porcelain mask, slightly moved to the side to show his stern yet fond eyes, loom over Tommy. “No sleeping on the dirt. Your shirt is white and you’re going to get it dirty.” The young boy pouts but listens anyways, brushing off his shirt with his hands before standing up.

“Dream,” Tommy slightly yawned out his name and stretched. God, he could do for a nap right now, but clinging to Dream would have to do for now. He chuckles and ruffles Tommy’s hair as he wraps his arms around Dream and tries to continue his nap.

“Tomathy,” Dream laughs slightly. “I can’t walk with you clinging to me like that.”

“’M tired,” he mumbles, but pulls away slightly so Dream can have some free space to walk. The two boys head into Dream’s cabin in the woods, overshadowed by the large canopy of towering trees over their heads.

These past few weeks managing Tommy has been emotionally rewarding, to say the least. Not only was Tommy a ball of sunshine to have, he was also very eager in pleasing Dream in anyway that he can. Whether if it was cleaning the dishes, making the bed, or sweeping the floor, Tommy would immediately get to work. His eyes would always light up whenever Dream praised him, and Dream was often reminded of an overeager puppy.

To say the least, Tommy is just as adorable as he had always been. Dream wondered whether this was the euphoria Wilbur and Techno used to feel back when Tommy was their younger brother.

_Was_. Dream smirks. Tommy is _his_ now.

He’s gained Tommy’s trust, that Dream can count on. Ever since bringing him back to the SMP and to his dearest friend Tubbo, Tommy had since looked at him like he was his hero, which in a way, Dream was. Except no one knew that Tommy had escaped the villains only to fall into the clutches into another.

And though no one really knew what Dream’s plans with Tommy are, Tubbo is still skeptical about Dream.

Hence fast forward to the nighttime, Tubbo is glaring Dream down with venom in his eyes.

“I still don’t trust you with him,” Tubbo starts off, blunt and easy. It’s a stark contrast to his usual soft demeanor, the one who wore oversized green sleeves and had sparkling round eyes that widened at every bee and flower he saw. The version Dream stares down is raggedy and stiff and had scars on his face from his colorful execution at the festival.

Dream leans on the walls of Pogtopia, bored. “I brought him back to you, didn’t he?”

“You did. But it’s been weeks since you’ve saved him and you haven’t given him back to us.” The oil lamp flickers and licks at Tubbo’s soot-covered skin. Dream stares at him in disdain. How brash and dirty, unlike Tommy’s soft appearance. “Pogtopia needs its leader back. _I_ need my best friend back.”

“I don’t plan on giving Tommy back to you anytime soon,” Dream replies smoothly, unprovoked by Tubbo’s harshness. “As his guardian, I’m going to do better than those pathetic brothers of his, and I’m going to make sure that he’s never participating in any wars ever.”

“In case you’ve forgotten,” Tubbo drily says. “Tommy has one remaining older brother: _me_. Phil adopted me too, and I should be the one who gets to have a say in this than some guy behind a mask that Tommy’s only known for about a year.”

Dream snickers when he hears Tubbo trying to act like Tommy’s older brother. “Tubbo, are you not a child? You’re literally just months older than Tommy. Don’t go acting like you’re an adult.” He sighs and pushes himself away from the wall. “Well, I’m really sorry, but I have to go. Tommy is waiting and I don’t want him starving because of some kid.”

“Tommy will forever be with L’Manburg,” Tubbo snarls. “He’ll join back in the fight to take down Schlatt and his cronies, I’m sure of it.”

Dream stills at Tubbo’s warning. _What a pain in the ass._

He slides his mask to the side and shows his dull green eyes. Tubbo flinches at the danger hidden behind them.

“ _I’m_ Tommy’s brother now, Tubbo,” he warns him lightly. “You or him don’t have a say in what happens.”

* * *

There is some truth to Tubbo’s warning that Dream must heed. Tommy’s heart had always been with L’Manburg. He had given up two remaining lives and would not hesitate to lose his last if that meant preserving the land he co-founded along with his brother.

Tommy is stubborn and resilient, even when the tides try to drown him. It is a characteristic that is greatly admirable to anyone else, but a thorn in the side for Dream.

He wants Tommy to keep being a cute little brother, not just because he’s, well, adorable and the only being capable of making Dream feel warm, but also because he doesn’t need any more people opposing him. Tommy is a soldier who stands with his ideals, and his ideal is a perfect and free L’Manburg.

Dream can _barely_ tolerate L’Manburg, much less Manburg. The lack of control and power makes him itch and Tommy has a charm that rallies people over to his side, and Dream can’t have that.

Dream can’t also handle Tommy getting hurt one more time. He wouldn’t know what to do if his last life shatters.

Which is why he needs Tommy to stay put and never go outside the house, not until all this nonsense is over. But when he pushes the spruce door aside and meets Tommy setting the dinner table, his heart drops when he sees the hopefulness in Tommy’s eyes.

He knows what’s coming next.

* * *

“Absolutely not.”

“Dream!” Tommy stomps his foot on the ground. “I _have_ to go back to Pogtopia! They need me! Wilbur and Techno are gone, they need more help than ever!”

Dream’s mask is set aside on the wooden table while he massages his temples to deal with the headache he currently has. There’s no use for the mask already, not when he and Tommy have bonded so closely with each other. Dream plants a firm look at the blonde kid, decision final.

“ _Tommy_ , you are never going to participate in a war again, not when you’re under my watch.” Tommy opens his mouth to retort, but Dream gives him a look. “Look, Tommy I just want you to be safe. You already lost two lives. I can’t have you risking your last one.”

“But Tubbo also has one life left!” Tommy exclaims. “And he’s been working hard ever since I got taken away by my brothers. I need to make it up to him somehow. I can’t risk his last life too!”

“Tubbo is much more insignificant than you, don’t you think, Toms?” Dream smiles at him. “I’m sure it’d be no big deal if he lost his last one.”

“W-Wha–?”

Tommy’s blue eyes stare at Dream. Dream, his savior and new older brother figure, just called his best friend _insignificant_. That boiled rage in Tommy.

“That’s my best friend, you prick!” Tommy hisses. “What do you mean it’s okay for him to die! I’m not more important than him! Tubbo– I– He’s my whole world, Dream! You can’t just casually tell me that you’re okay with him dying!”

“When has Tubbo ever done anything for you, Tommy?” Dream tilts his head to the side. “So far, Tubbo has been a soft-hearted yes-man who can’t even do the easy job of being your inside spy. You died for L’Manburg, _twice_ , and one of them was because you willingly sacrificed your life.” He levels Tommy with a green-eyed stare. “You _do_ remember our duel, right?”

Tommy flinches as he remembers the sharp stabbing of an arrow through his chest and the cold water forcing him into their deepest parts as he explodes in both code and ash. Suddenly the man in front of him isn’t Dream, his older brother, but Dream, the one who took away their freedom and terrorized their lands.

“But Dream,” Tommy pleads with a softer and more desperate voice. It’s cute, Dream hates to admit, but he’s not going to be fooled. “Dream, you’re on my side, right? Please, please, _please,_ Dream. You have to let me fight in this war. I need my L’Manburg back.”

There’re a few moments of silence that follows, Dream staring back at Tommy as he taps his nail on the lacquered wood. He swallows as he waits before Dream lets out a sigh and pushes himself away from the table. The chair drags across the floor and Dream makes his way to Tommy.

“Toms,” Dream says softly, cupping the boy’s cheek. He melts into the warm touch like the touch-starved boy that he is. “I am on your side, believe me.”

Tommy glows and beams at Dream. “So does that mean—”

“I’m not letting you go Tommy.” Dream looks down at him, eyes faded into a dull, hard look. “That’s why I’m going to have to do this.”

A familiar needle glimmers in Dream’s hand. Tommy’s breath hitches and his body goes stiff

“W-Why do you have that?” He stammers out. His shaking eyes dart back and forth between the needle and Dream’s stoic expression. “You’re– You’re not supposed to have that anymore.”

“Oh, it’s not that hard to replicate a drug, Tommy, not when you’ve got the basics of brewing down.” He pushes the needle down and one drop falls onto the carpet. “This time, however, the drug is a bit more… intense.” He smiles at Tommy, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I hope you’ll forgive me for doing this, but we’ll have much fun together when you wake up, okay?” He presses a gentle kiss on Tommy’s forehead. “Now go to sleep, bubba.”

“No–!” Tommy cries out. No matter how much he wiggles and squirms away from Dream’s grip, the opening to escape never shows himself. “You– You betrayed me!” Tommy sobs. “You said you weren’t gonna hurt me! You said you’re not like them! You– You–“

Tommy feels hopeless.

“You betrayed me,” Tommy sobs. “Like everyone else.”

“So, how does that trip to Philza sound, huh?”

There’s a bang and a crash before Tommy falls to the floor on his butt. Tommy does not care when the pain ricochets through his body, only focusing on two blurry figures. One clad in brown, the other in pink. Tommy knows who they are immediately.

“Wilbur?” He whispers out pathetically. “Techno?”

“We’re here, Toms,” Techno reassures in that same old monotone voice of his. “We’re getting you out of here.”

“No, you fucking don’t,” Dream snaps. “I’m not letting you take him away to that psychopathic family of yours.”

Techno huffs. “Phil is not a psychopath,” he retorts. “You keep dirtying Phil’s name and I’ll cut off your tongue.”

“Hey, Tommy.” Wilbur crouches in front of him and sweeps away his blonde curls with his hand. “You’re gonna come with us, alright? No excuses. You’ve seen what Dream’s gonna do, how controlling he is. It’s pretty much the same if I’m going to be honest here, so it’s better if you’d just go along with your _real_ family, not some imposter in a green hoodie.”

Tommy barely listens to the muffled-out noises as he curls in on himself.

Everyone keeps betraying him.

_They rigged your country with explosives. They killed your best friend. They shot you in the heart._

A cackle in a ravine and delusional muttering. White, red, and blue fireworks and his friend’s mangled body. A man covered in blood demanding for white flags.

_They sang you songs. They taught you how to fight. They ruffled your hair and laughed with you._

The sound of gentle humming and the crackling fireplace. A good-natured chuckle as they hand him back the sword and put him in position. A purple-accented church and the jokes they shared along the way.

Tommy curls into himself.

He doesn’t want _this_.

He wants the past back. He wants the boy who had everything back.

_God_ , he’s so fucking jealous of the Tommy who loved to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall keep forgetting that tubbo is also tommy's older brother and I will shove it down your fucking throat till it lives in your head rent free


	11. end 1 - techno & wilbur end (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the family is back together.  
> for better or for worse.

“Aw,” Wilbur coos and Tommy flinches. He’s still curled up into a ball, shaking and trying to process the mess that was happening in front of him.

Dream tried to drug him. _Dream_ , the man who saved him and made him finally feel like he was safe. He thought he could finally have someone to run to, to have someone have his back, but _no_. He tried to drug him. Tommy didn’t know what to do with that information.

“Is my Tommy still scared?” Wilbur is talking in that annoying pouty voice that he uses whenever he patronizes him. But Tommy doesn’t have the time to be annoyed, because he’s still curled up and all he wants to do is shut down.

Everyone _has_ to betray him, huh? Tommy wants to scream and shout and sob, but his voice is gone, he can’t talk, why aren’t there sounds coming out?

He meets Wilbur’s dark eyes with shaking blue ones. His brother cocks his head to the side. “What is it, Toms?”

He _wants_ to say something, but nothing is coming out. Only a warbled, feeble cry escapes him.

“Oh, no.” Wilbur looks almost sympathetic— _almost_. The sly smile betrays the emotions he’s trying to convey as he pulls Tommy’s head into his chest and rubs circles on his back. The gesture is comforting and Tommy finds himself relaxing in the hands of a half-insane brother. “My Tommy must be really terrified that he can’t talk, huh? Must be very traumatizing, seeing your savior try to drug you like your brothers.” He pats Tommy and kisses his hair. “’S okay, Toms. Big bro Wilby and Techie’s got your back, don’t they? We’ll fight the bad guy for you.”

Tommy looks up at Wilbur. He smiles down at his brother.

“All you have to do is sleep one last time.”

Techno, who is busy holding down Dream, slips out the needle from his hands and tosses it to Wilbur.

Tommy finally accepts his fate.

* * *

When Tommy wakes up, the sound of hooves thudding on the grass accompanies the whistle of the wind and his big brothers’ low chatter.

He’s sitting against a broad chest, too muscle and brawn for it to be Wilbur. He looks up and sees Techno’s regal face, unhidden by the usual skull mask he’d usually wear, and blinks slowly.

“Techno,” he mumbles. Techno looks down at him and gives his blonde hair a ruffle.

“’M here, Toms, don’t you worry. The way to the server exit is just miles away. Just be a lil bit more patient.” Tommy’s ears pick up on Wilbur’s harsh voice that’s too muffled. “Oh, be quiet, Wilbur, I’m not handing Tommy over to you. You’re going to get distracted and coddle him again and I don’t have time for you falling off your horse.”

Tommy is silent for a bit. “Dadza?” He asks hopefully. Techno allows a small smile on his face.

“Dadza,” Techno reassures. “We’re going back to your _real_ family, alright? No more wars, no more Dream, you can go back to being a child again.”

“It’s alright now, Toms. We’re here now.”

* * *

Phil sits in the backyard of their rusty old cabin in the woods, sharpening his netherite sword. The clinging and clanging of metal against metal echoes throughout the hollow woods, uninhabited save for the woodland creatures used to the loud noises of the Watson household.

Or what remains of the Watson household, that is. Phil sighs and puts down the metalwork and stretches. His grand wings unfurl behind him, black feathers flapping off as Phil stretches them out too. The woods are too silent this time of day and it unnerves him. Had it been 20 years ago, Phil would not have minded, his mind too focused on the glories of beating the world record. But the current Phil is the adoptive father of three boys off adventuring in their own servers, and he can’t help but miss their loudness.

“It’s too fuckin’ lonely in this server,” Phil mutters to himself as he takes a walk through the forest. He laughs a lonely laugh and sighs. “Look at me, an old man who can barely survive without his kids. I’ve really fallen, huh?”

The birds and parrots perched on the branches chirp their agreement. Phil lifts his eyes to glare at them. “Fuck off, you ugly green birds.” He shakes his head and walks off in the opposite direction. “This is why I fucking shoot you and eat you for dinner.”

Do the birds gasp in synchrony or is Phil going insane? Either way, the man continues his stroll along the woods.

Phil memorizes every inch of the woods, knows every nook and cranny and burrow and hole. He’s memorized every curve of the creek running along between the slopes of grass, the slight slant of the towering spruce tree that overshadowed all other trees, the burrows that the rabbits loved to hide in. The woods make him painfully aware of the past he had, with three children running around and laughing their little lungs out.

For the nth time that day, Phil lets out a long sigh and sits upon a rock.

Wilbur would sit upon the lowest branch of a tree and strum his guitar, eyes closed in content as he let the music and the atmosphere swallow him whole. His eldest boy, his little musician. There’s not a day where Wilbur parts from his guitar and every day he blesses the woods and the house with his songs and melodies.

Techno’s sword is an accompaniment, clashing and stabbing into wooden figures like the beat of a drum. Wilbur tends to complain about the amount of noise Techno made during his self-training, but the complaints would decrease the more Techno’s style got more elegant until Techno’s sword was only a whisper of wind and a sliver of silver. Phil would clap and pat Techno’s head when he struck each dummy straight on the target with his sword and arrows.

His youngest, Tommy, was music itself. His hands could play the piano for hours and his body would bounce and sway to Wilbur’s melody and jump in delight whenever Techno showed off. His smile was vibrant and laugh, as shrieky and loud as it may be, made other people want to laugh too. He was in constant need of attention and he managed to get it even without putting in the effort.

Tubbo came to their lives at a later date, when Tommy was nine and Tubbo was abandoned in the woods at the age of 10. He played music too, loved to sing to Tommy and Phil whenever he had a chance. But while Wilbur had flamboyance and eagerness to show off, Tubbo was shyer about his skills and would rather dirty himself in mud with Tommy than sing in front of a crowd.

Phil misses his boys. He misses the good ol’ days when their family was just together, but they’ve all gone off to do their own adventures, to write their own stories. Phil is only a man of legend, and that legend has come to pass.

His ears pick up on the stomping of hooves and slight chatter, immediately prompting him to his feet and placing a hand on his sword. The village was a good 30 minutes away and today was a Sunday, meaning the clergy was probably conducting mass. No one should be able to come here in these parts of the server.

Two figures astride on two different horses reveal their silhouettes from underneath the shadow of the trees. Phil narrows his eyes.

“Phil,” comes a very familiar voice. Phil’s eyes widen as he stares up at his two older sons. Techno’s cape moves slightly to reveal a sleeping Tommy swaddled beneath. Wilbur grins at him. “You don’t have to be so on edge.”

“W-Wil?” Phil is in disbelief. When had his son’s eyes get so empty? “Techno? And Tommy’s here too! What’s happening?”

“We’re coming back home,” Techno simply answers. “And we plan on staying.”

* * *

Phil sees how different his sons are right away.

Wilbur’s usually mischievous eyes hold a different spark to them, less playful and more unhinged. On his coat lingers the scent of smoke and coal and his fingers are less delicate and more calloused than he remembers them to be. When he talks, he still talks as dramatically and theatrically as he used to be, but there’s a sense of fading sanity behind his articulate words.

Techno, for the most part, hasn’t changed. He’s still as stoic as ever, but somehow his grip on Tommy is tighter. Phil is aware of the brothers’ abundant love for the youngest, but Techno is never needlessly overprotective. He’d usually allow Tommy to make mistakes and hurt himself, even mocking him for it at times. But something tells Phil that Techno isn’t letting anyone take hold of Tommy soon.

And speaking of Tommy, _god_ , what happened to him?

When he wakes up, his big blue eyes are shaking and anxious. When he finally sees Phil, relief fills his eyes and he’s about to reach out to him. But the moment he does, Techno and Wilbur enter the room and he immediately freezes.

Phil observes Tommy closely. With Techno he’s less wary, but with Wilbur he’s on edge. Nevertheless, he’s still shaking and anxious at the same, flinching almost every time there’s sudden movement from any of them. Techno seems to notice this and so does Wilbur, but it looks like the eldest could barely give a shit.

Rules are set in place by the brothers. Rules have never been really enforced in the Watson household before, not really. All Phil really needed of them was to do their chores and when they were younger, never go out at night. But the three of them were fully grown by now and Phil entrusted Tommy was capable enough of handling himself against mobs. Techno and Wilbur did not share that same thought.

“No going out at night, don’t do anything reckless, never interact with anyone else outside the family, and never ever, _ever_ go out of the house’s boundaries.” Wilbur lists off the rules as he paces in front of the couch where Tommy is swathed in blankets. “You are to stay where we can see you and if you don’t follow these rules, we will be forced to be stricter with you, alright?”

Tommy doesn’t seem to agree. “Wilbur that’s—” he coughs into his fist “—that’s unfair! I’m a grown ass man! You can’t just lock me in!”

Wilbur glares at the youngest, who immediately flinches and retreats into his blankets. “Tommy, I’m sick of seeing you walking around and causing problems for everyone and starting fights. You get into wars, get out of them, start fights, steal shit, fight almost everyone!” He clicks his tongue. “I’ve had enough of that, and so does Techno. You keep forgetting your manners and discipline, so we’ll be taking that into our own hands.”

“This is– This is unfair!” Tommy weakly protests. He looks at Phil pleadingly. “Please, dad, Dadza. Help me out here! He’s being unfair!”

Phil smiles weakly at Tommy. “I’m sorry, Toms. They know what happened to you. I’m sure they’re doing this for your own good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2 of end 1 will probably be out hours from now,, which is like the next day for me... also c!phil's gonna be a pussy in this ending don't get ur hopes up
> 
> awesamdude being tommy's father??? I'm taking notes everyone knows how much I love making ppl care for the traumatized child
> 
> also somehow it's kind of hard for me to mentally break down tommy like what.... if u think abt it this child is actually so mentally strong. like I know we're in pogtopia era but holy shit mans been thru gaslighting and abuse and child slavery and a big brother's death and spiral into insanity and he's like... still pogging through the pain?
> 
> like as much as I want to see tommy all mushy and drugged out as soon as possible... i feel like the road to actually mentally breaking c!tommy is very... long? we're talking about a child who's too fucking stubborn for his own good. legit don't think he's gonna pussy out from one drug dose but that's probs just me


	12. end 1 - techno & wilbur end (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> happily ever after is up to the actors, not the people around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// child abuse, bruises, scars, graphic description of violence

“Let me go with you!” Tommy demands, stomping down his foot like an angry toddler. Techno adjusts his axe on his shoulder and sighs, looking down at his brother.

“You know I can’t Tommy.” _Creator_ , how Tommy hates it when Techno talks to him like he’s a child. He’s a big man, damn it, but no one in this household seems to acknowledge that. “There’s plenty of mobs outside and I can’t risk you getting hurt.”

Tommy rolls his eyes at him. “I’ve been in _wars_ , Technoblade! Do you really think some stupid mobs are going to hurt me?”

There he goes again, pulling the war cards. Techno wonders when Tommy will ever learn that wars don’t make him mature. He’s about to reject him again, but Phil speaks up from the kitchen.

“Let him go with you, Techno.” Phil smiles at him. “Your brother’s been bored from being shut inside this house and I think he needs some fresh air if he doesn’t want to go crazy.”

Techno is hesitant, but he decided to let Tommy join him on his hunt. The day is short, Tommy taking up the silence with the conversation-having skills that seemingly hasn’t gone away after all that. Though he might be used to hunting in silence, he’s happy for the companionship and entertainment he normally doesn’t get to have.

But when night falls, the blonde child grows silent, pricking his ears for any signs of mobs nearby. Techno sees the child’s face turn into that of a soldier’s, clearly too used to being on patrols and watching out for any signs of an ambush. It makes Techno feel a mixture of both angry and grief, because his brother didn’t deserve to be molded into this kind of person.

Techno moves a little bit forward with his torch raised to light up the way. Their way back home is full of rocks and stones and branches that could snap and alert any mobs at any given moment. Tommy is still not fully healed yet, and he needs to hurry back home as soon as he can.

“Ack—!”

Tommy’s sudden cry makes Techno immediately turn around in a panic. “Tommy?” He calls out, eyes searching in the dark for his brother. His heart immediately starts pounding in his chest when he can’t find him. “Tommy? Where are you?”

“H–Here!” Tommy calls out. Techno quickly heads to the direction of his voice. “I’m fine, I’m just–!” Techno breaks through the bushes, eyes widening at his brother sprawled out on the ground with a bloody knee.

A shadow looms over him, Techno rushes to protect him.

But the zombie is nearer and poses much more threat than it usually would with a stone sword in hand. It strikes at Tommy’s leg and he lets out a blood-curdling scream. Techno’s vision turns red.

His vision is blurring, the growls coming from underneath his breath sound louder and more animalistic, the earth is swaying, and so is Tommy, who stares up at him with teary blue eyes. The blood… The blood that pools from his legs and the zombie poised to stab him clean through the ribs burn into his brain… and the voice starts chanting louder and louder at the back of his mind.

_blood for the blood god. protect tommy. blood for the blood god. protect the child. protect your brother. protect your kin. blood for the blood god._

It’s at this point where Techno is barely human anymore and Tommy is forced to watch as his brother starts ripping into the zombie with wild abandon.

He can barely handle the sight, the piglin hybrid’s normally stoic eyes glowing red in the dark, blown wide and consumed with pure red rage. His hands dirty themselves as they rip into the zombie’s chest and bury themselves in its rotten flesh before ripping out whatever he could have a grip on.

“T–Techno…?” Tommy weakly calls out to his brother. “It’s– I’m fine now… Techno, p–please–“ His voice cracks. “Please stop this already.” His brain is screaming for him to stand and run away, but it’s too weak from the blood and even weaker as his brother gruesomely hacks away at the zombie. Bile finds its way up Tommy’s throat.

“Tommy? Techno?”

Wilbur and Phil approach the gruesome scene occurring in front of them, they’re less revolted by the sight and dismiss it like it’s an everyday occurrence to them. Wilbur’s heart melts when he sees Tommy hyperventilating in front of his brother with tears rolling down his cheeks and chest heaving up and down as silent sobs escape him.

He puts a light hand on his shoulder and he flinches. Once Tommy sees Wilbur’s familiar face in the dark, he immediately crumples underneath his touch.

“Wilbur!” Tommy is wailing into his chest and he takes care to scoop him up in his arms and turn his head away from the sight. “Techno! Techno’s gone crazy! He’s– He’s–!”

“Go on,” he prompts lightly, cupping a hand around Tommy’s ear so he can muffle out the horrendous sounds. “Techno is…?”

“T–Techno’s scary…” he whimpers, lifting his sad round eyes up at him. “H–He’s scaring me…”

“Oh, poor child,” Wilbur pouts and lifts Tommy up. “Come now, we’ll give your brother more time. Phil will take care of him.”

Tommy sniffles and nuzzles into his chest. He’s fragile and shaking underneath Wilbur’s touch and he revels in his younger brother’s moment of weakness. Creators above, they knew how much he wanted to hold his brother in his hands when he was all broken and vulnerable like this.

 _Finally_ , they were doing something right.

* * *

Wilbur uses that traumatic night as a lesson for Tommy, just as he’s done with the rest of Tommy’s trauma.

Never trust anyone outside your family _(Eret and his button flashes across Tommy’s eyes and he shudders— Wilbur grimaces too, but he doesn’t let anyone see)_ , your brothers have more power over you than any else _(Tommy is forced to relive seeing his best friend die at the hands of the brother he idolized so much),_ and that you should never _ever_ go against your brothers _(Wilbur jeers from the side as Techno stomps into his side and force him into the corner of the Pit)._

He weakly protests, but Wilbur swishes a weakness potion in front of Tommy and he immediately shuts up.

“Forgive your brothers, Tommy,” Phil says as he sets down the mushroom soup and cutlery. “They’re just trying to protect you.”

“I… know that but…” He stares blankly at the bowl. “I just think they’re going a bit too far.”

“Well, I understand what they’re trying to do.” Phil smiles at his son. “I’m sure one day you’ll do too.”

There’s not one single minute where someone doesn’t have their eyes on Tommy. He feels suffocated he tries to do his own thing like playing the piano or reading books because not too far away one of his family members are there, eyes on him like a hawk to prey.

Bedtime, however… is more tolerable. Because even though he has his brothers flanked on both sides of him, he feels warm and protected. The three cuddle into each other for warmth and Phil can’t help but smile at the sight of his three children.

“Good night boys,” he calls from the doorway before he blows out the lantern and shuts the door.

“Sleep tight, Tommy,” Wilbur whispers from his left. Techno grunts from his right and they adjust themselves under the covers.

“I don’t wanna sleep yet,” Tommy grumbles. Wilbur chuckles.

“You’re such a child.” He reaches out and pinches Tommy’s cheek. He yelps and rubs at the sore spot. “Do you want to hear a story or something?”

Tommy nods excitedly, eyes sparkling at the thought. “I want one of Techno’s stories… the ones he used to read to me as a kid.”

Techno yawns. “It’s nighttime, kid.”

The blonde shuffles and looks at Techno, pleading with the best pitiful face he can manage. “ _Pleeaase?”_ He whines out. “I really like your stories.”

Wilbur props himself up on his elbow and looks over at the middle child. “Just do it, Techno. Then we can sleep.”

He grumbles a barely-heard complaint but sighs and proceeds to weave together a story he’s read in texts. It’s a story about Theseus, a hero turned tragedy, and Tommy grows increasingly more upset as the story goes on.

“But he saved everyone,” he points out. “Why would they exile him? That’s mean.”

“Does it matter?” Techno looks at his brother. “The thing is, Toms, is that good things don’t happen to heroes. They’ll be thrown away the moment they served their purpose.”

“That’s right,” Wilbur chimes in. “That’s what they were planning to do to you too. Push you into the role of hero and immediately discard you once you’re done acting the part no one wants to play.”

Tommy frowns. “Tubbo would never do anything like that. He’s my best friend.”

“If Tubbo was indeed your best friend, then why hasn’t he shown up here?” Wilbur brushes the hair out of Tommy’s eyes. “He grew up in this house too. Why hasn’t he come looking for you yet?”

The words die on Tommy’s tongue. Wilbur grins wickedly.

“Goodnight, Toms.” He presses a kiss on his soft hair. “Sleep tight.”

* * *

Tommy grows to love being pampered and being spoiled more and more. It’s a life he thought he’d never be able to experience after living through those wars on stale bread and even staler soup. The echo of Schlatt’s voice seems farther and farther away and the smiles of the friends he’s made grow fainter and fainter.

“Tommy,” Wilbur chastises when he accidentally drops a glass cup. “Look at the mess you’ve made.”

He flinches like a kicked puppy. He can’t bring himself to look at Wilbur in the eyes and stare guiltily at the shattered glass beneath his feet. “I’m– I’m sorry, Wilbur. I didn’t mean it to happen. I just—”

“Oh, I know you didn’t mean it to happen.” Wilbur cups his brother’s cheeks. “You’re a good boy, I know that, but you’re also very, very stupid. You can’t be trusted with anything at all.”

They lock Tommy in his room for the night, no food and no brothers to envelope him in his warmth. They take away the warm covers and blanket and Tommy is forced to starve the entire night away, cold and shivering.

When they finally open the doors in the morning, Tommy’s face light up with relief. The numbing in his fingers and the tremble in his legs don’t allow him to stand, and Techno gladly carries Tommy to the couch and sits him on his lap while they take turns feeding him.

Every single mistake is met with harsh punishment and Phil only stands to the side and watches. It’s not the _best_ disciplining but it does its work, he thinks as Tommy comes crawling back to Wil and Techno after each penalty. And besides, nothing could go wrong, not when Tommy looks so happy when Techno and Wilbur feed him the next morning and smother him with affection he’d never thought he’d see out of those two.

Slowly and surely, they reform Tommy to the boy they once called their younger brother. The sweet bundle of joy that would hop around and obey their every single command and cling to every word they say.

Wilbur loves the feeling of control over his brother. Now _this_ , the Tommy with a sweet smile and shining eyes, is the brother he loves the most. The boy who learned the piano just for him. Not that boy clad in a militaria uniform brandishing enchanted swords. Not the boy who glared at him and had the guts to dare yell back at him. That stranger was long gone and Wilbur could not help but be happy.

Techno relishes in the feeling again of Tommy staring up at him in pure adoration, cheering him on from the sidelines when he’s training for the next competition. The respect that Tommy had lost for him is back and Techno could finally ensure his brother’s safety now that he was within the confines of his room.

And Tommy, adorning the black and blue bruises on his arms like they were art, has completely forgotten about the life he’d left behind. Because, hey, who needs such traumatic experiences when he could just throw that all to the wind for the life he’d always wanted with his brothers?

* * *

“Wilby… Techie…” Tommy pouts up at his two brothers, his entire body both mushy and hot at the same time. “It _hurts_.”

“Oh hush, you big baby,” Wilbur laughs at him, squeezing the damp cloth into the washbasin and places it on Tommy’s warm forehead. “Everything will be better.”

Techno presses his fingers against Tommy’s neck to feel the temperature. “He’s still burning up.”

Wilbur dismisses it with a wave of his hand. “I’ll take care of it.” He chuckles. “We went too far with the punishment this time, huh?”

Techno nods. “Too much.”

“It’s okay,” Tommy weakly smiles at them. “I deserved it.”

“Atta boy,” Wilbur croons. “There’s our boy, knowing when to admit his mistakes.”

“Of course,” he huffs. “My brothers are never wrong.”

The blood seeps into the floorboards. None of them seem to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly this was so late to be pumped out cuz I had several different thoughts on how this story was supposed to end and none of them worked so I decided to pull up the gay_gay_gay prompt once again and I decided... hey,, lets go the fucked up route
> 
> keep in mind... while wilbur may be sadistic,, but dream is way more sadistic
> 
> phil also like a bystander in this ending cuz this book ain't about him
> 
> u can see how much I just BSed thru this ending I just rlly want to get started on other stories and I feel like my writing style isn't very nice so I want to use other books as a way to experiment cuz td just be weird to change writing styles midway..
> 
> wilbur gets his control... techno gets his respect... tommy gets his family and Phil can fuck outta here you're still a bad parent in both this book and canon


	13. end 2 - dream end (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's time to move on to a new family, even if means betraying those who loved you.

He remembers when Dream used to be more open with his feelings, when the mask just felt like an accessory on his face and nothing more.

Dream didn’t always don his trademark mask, no. Back in the simpler days, when it was just Dream and Tommy and their friends, it was pulled to the side so Dream could clearly see the beauty of the SMP. His friends used to pinch his cheeks for fun and he’d angrily swat at their hands. Tommy remembers his brows furrowing in frustration as he’d snap at his friends to cut it off, and the wild grin that’d spread on his face when he starts chasing after them.

Dream greeted Tommy on his first day too, light green eyes crinkling with a warm smile on his face.

Tommy remembers looking up to Dream so, _so_ much.

If Wilbur is charismatic and Techno is a battle prodigy, Dream is all those mixed into one person. Tommy would watch as he’d swing from tree to tree, always landing on his feet, and smartly maneuvering his way around the Hunters of the game. The members of the SMP would crowd around him as he boasted and listed off his achievements, cocky yet dashing at the same time.

He used to be so expressive, so happy-go-lucky, and confident.

Tommy wonders when Dream started to use the mask not as an accessory, but as a weapon to hide his emotions.

L’Manburg had not changed its citizens, but the people of the SMP too. Sapnap’s arsonist tendencies blossomed, Punz's greed for wealth amplified, George was well… George. But _Dream_ , the governing Admin, and ruler of the SMP, seemed too icy to be the same adventurous Dream Tommy had once come to know.

And yet, even though Dream had closed off his emotions to the people around him, he would still take off his mask in Tommy’s presence alone. Dream would hug him tightly when he went back home, smelling of the soot and ash Manburg and the Greater SMP was covered in. He’d murmur something about the spruce trees’ scent clinging to Tommy, how it was a refresher for him.

 _Sure_ , this isn’t Pogtopia, this isn’t Tubbo and his friends, but… Dream is just as good as them.

Which is why it hurt so much when Dream pointed that needle at him, when for a moment he wasn’t Dream his savior but Dream the foe who took away two of his lives. When for just a moment… for just a tiny sliver of time, those green eyes flashed angrily like the smoldering brown eyes of his declining brother.

Wilbur betrayed him the moment he walked the path to villainy. Techno betrayed him the moment he set those fireworks on Tubbo. And Dream… Dream betrayed him when—

“Let fucking go!” Dream hisses from the corner, neck dangerously close to being sliced off by Techno’s blade. Wilbur kneels at Tommy’s side expectantly, waiting for his brother to side with them. Tommy shivers at the thought of those brown eyes.

“I’ll let go when we have Tommy back,” Techno answers, eyes flicking to Wilbur and Tommy. “Are we ready to go, Wil?”

“I don’t know.” Wilbur cocks his head at Tommy. “Toms, are you ready?”

“I—” His breath hitches in his throat, his eyes shaky as he tries to take in the situation. Techno is looking at him over his shoulder with his sword still at Dream’s face when Dream uses his distraction to kick Techno’s sword up and try to get away.

The hybrid narrows his eyes and poises his sword to swipe at Dream’s back. In a flash, the tip of his sword meets not Dream’s open back, but Tommy’s scared face. It stops before it could do any real harm to his brother, its pointy end glinting juts a few millimeters from Tommy’s face.

“Tommy,” Techno growls out. He lowers down the sword and glares down at his brother. “You’re not protecting Dream, are you?”

“I–I–“ His eyes look conflicted, even as they try to return a half-glare at Techno. “You’re not hurting Dream. Not on my watch.”

“ _Tommy,_ ” Wilbur hisses, eyes black as coal. “He just tried to drug you!”

“You drugged me too!” Tommy shoots back. “Multiple times, in fact. The only difference is that Dream was trying to protect me, fucked up as it is. You just– You just want to see me weak!”

Techno steps in before Wilbur makes the entire situation worse. “We’re also trying to–“

“I think Tommy’s heard enough, hasn’t he?” Dream purrs behind Tommy.

Having slipped on the mask during their exchange, Dream’s green eye glint through the crack caused in the middle of the chaos. He can’t see it, but Techno can hear the wide grin plastered on Dream’s face by the smugness in his voice. He won’t let him get away from stealing their brother a second time.

“Dream.” Techno’s voice is hard. “Hand him over.”

He cocks his head to the side, one green eye staring at him unblinkingly. “Hand him over? But why? Tommy is the one who willingly came by my side.” No one can see it, but the grin Dream wears is too maniacal for view. The feeling of triumph that washes over Dream is too exhilarating. The faces on Wilbur and Techno… the slow realization that they were about to lose their brother to him... it’s too addicting.

This has always been what he wanted. Show these so-called prodigies who really is Tommy’s brother.

“I don’t… I don’t wanna go back, Tech. Not to you two.” Tommy blinks back tears. “You guys left me to go on your adventures, Wilbur joined the SMP only to screw everyone over with a country, and Techno joined and blew my best friend up. It was–“ He averts his eyes. “It would have been better if you guys didn’t show up at all.”

Silence suffocates the people in the room. Dream is ecstatic, while Techno and Wilbur can barely believe their ears.

“You–“ Wilbur’s expression of shock quickly evolves into one of pure rage. “You don’t fucking mean that.”

He still refuses to look at his brothers. “I think you have to go.”

A win for Dream. The biggest L for these losers.

Techno’s hand clenches and unclenches around the grip of his sword, before softly sighing and summons the sword back to his inventory. He turns his back on his youngest brother and places his hand on Wilbur’s shoulder. “Wil, let’s go back. Tommy’s done with us.”

“Wha– He–!” Wilbur shifts his glare to Techno. “ _Techno_ , he’s literally right there! Just snatch him up! I–I refuse to leave Tommy alone with the person who killed him _two_ times!”

“He couldn’t help those two times, alright?” Tommy defends Dream. “We were at _war_! A war you made me fight in!”

Wilbur stays silent and Techno leans in to whisper something to the eldest. His eyes dull. “ _Fine_. Fine. Fine! Tommy, you may think I’m insane, Techno a bloodthirsty soldier, but remember, Dream is just as fucked up as us. You’re going to regret staying with him for the rest of your life.”

When Wilbur and Techno slam the door behind them, Tommy looks up to Dream with his shaking eyes.

“Dream… I– I did good, right?” He bites his lip nervously. “I sort of understood why you wanted to– to _drug_ me.” He winces at the memory. “And it’s still fucked up to me, but I know you just wanted me to be safe, even if you had to go the extremes.”

The older blonde lifts his mask up to smile at Tommy. It’s softer than anything Tommy’s seen from him before and he’s sent back to the past, where it was just the SMP only. No L’Manburgs, no El Rapids, no differences. Just a group of people living in peace. The peace and quiet Tommy wants feel so close already. Tommy manages a weak albeit sincere smile up at Dream.

“I’m happy that you understood,” Dream says, running a hand through Tommy’s messy hair. “And I’m really, _really_ sorry too. You were being so stubborn and I couldn’t think of another way to keep you still… I’m sorry, okay?”

Tommy’s eyes widen at the apology from the almost-god. “S-Sure. I forgive you.” He laughs nervously. “Wow. It’s a bit strange hearing an apology from you of all people and– Wait! Pogtopia, I–“ He quickly mellows down and gulps. “Do you… Do you still not want me to go?”

Dream’s eyes, usually a shade of vibrant jade, dulls to the color of murky green and it sends a chill down Tommy’s spine. But it quickly disappears and Dream sighs. “Fine, because you’re so stubborn about it. _But_! Only if you let me fight with you.” He stares sternly at Tommy. “Is that a deal?”

It may have been the greatest deal Tommy’s been offered his entire life. “You want to fight with us?!” Tommy’s face glows with excitement. “Yes! Yes!” He pulls Dream into a hug and laughs. “Yes, of course you can! Ooh, Manburg won’t stand a chance!”

Dream blinks at the sudden hug before letting out a laugh and hugs Tommy back. “Tone down the excitement, Tomathy. Sleep first, then we’ll meet your friends tomorrow.”

“O–Okay!” Tommy pulls away from the hug and dashes up the stairs. “I’m gonna sleep right now! So that tomorrow can come faster!” He grins at Dream. “Night, Dream!”

He gives his younger brother a fond smile and waves him off. “Night, Toms.”

When Tommy disappears into the second floor, Dream takes a quick look at his inventory. Six stacks, he notes. That should be more than enough.

Dream places his mask back on and heads out. The block of obsidian in his right hand is barely seen in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHERE ARE THE ASKERS
> 
> i cant believe I managed to witness history in the making... dream got rekt,, demolished, pounded into dust
> 
> fortunately for him, he's not so pathetic in this timeline (or maybe he is??? bitch tried to drug a child gtfo). he's winning!!! tommy thinks he's winning too but there's a reason why his fans watch him and it's because he keeps losing (also cuz he's funny)
> 
> anyways tommy decanonizes himself from the SBI dynamic in this one I hope yall enjoyed


	14. end 2 - dream end (2/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in this dark obsidian room  
> only one source of light remains

Today’s the day. The day Tommy goes back to Pogtopia and Tubbo, the day he finally is able to go back to his normal life. Or at least… as normal as a child soldier’s life can be.

But Tommy doesn’t find himself worrying at all. He has Dream on their side, hasn’t he? He can round up their army, make plans and get resources, set a date, and finally overthrow Schlatt and his cronies. He can do it, he _knows_ he can do it. He’s made strategies before, lead people into battle, fought more wars than any of the people on the server. This isn’t new to him at all.

Then when everything’s over, he can live in peace with Dream, Tubbo, and the rest. The happy ending to his tragic story.

Confusion immediately hits him like a truck when he doesn’t wake up to the soft morning light that would stream through his windows or the chirping of the birds perched on the tree outside. It’s pitch black everywhere and Tommy tries to put his hands in front of his face, but there’s nothing there but black.

“D-Dream?” Tommy’s voice wavers. He feels the bed beneath him to get a good grasp of his surroundings, and slowly pushes himself off the bed. “Dream? I–I can’t see anything! Where are you?”

His voice echoes back and the anxiety in his gut is shaking his entire body. The space is too small, _far_ too small. He hates being lonely. He hates small spaces. _Where_ is Dream? The void only makes him feel smaller and smaller and there’s a dull pounding at the back of his head.

“Can’t breathe,” he rasps out weakly. “Too _tight_ , can’t–!”

“Tommy? Tommy!”

A trapdoor from somewhere squeaks its existence and the light that comes from beyond it is almost blinding. Dream jumps down with a torch in hand and immediately sees Tommy wrapping his arms around his lithe body in the corner of the room. He drops the bag he held in one hand and rushes over to soothe the child.

“It’s okay, Toms, it’s okay. You’re safe now, alright?” He rubs circles into his back and pets the nape of Tommy’s neck. “You’re safe underground. No one’s going to find you here, you’re alright with me.”

“U-Underground?” Tommy asks, voice scratchy. “No– That’s not– _You_ took me here?”

Dream nods and the blonde kid has to bite his lip to keep down the frustration threatening to blow up. “You promised me that you’d fight in Pogtopia with me, though!” He exclaims, frustration evident. “You said you’d let me fight as long as you’ll be there to watch me! I don’t– I don’t get it! You betrayed me again?”

_“Tommy, you may think I’m insane, Techno a bloodthirsty soldier, but remember, Dream is just as fucked up as us. You’re going to regret staying with him for the rest of your life.”_

Wilbur’s words come back to him and Tommy’s throat tightens. Was Wilbur right? Was he just betrayed again? Not again not again not again _not againnotagainnotagain—_

“Oh, Tommy,” Dream coos and tilts his head up so he can take a closer look at Tommy’s tear-stricken face. The torch’s flames flicker and set his pitiful face aglow. “I’d never betray you, you know that? I’m trying to protect you! Manburg just released Punz and the rest on Pogtopia and Pogtopia has _no_ resources to fight back with now that Techno is gone. It’s not safe for someone as weak as you to go back out there!”

“That’s wrong! That’s— That’s–“ Tommy sniffles. “If I can just go back out there, I can turn the tides. I’ve done it so many times before. I can do it now!”

“You’re not special, Tommy.” Dream wipes his tear away. “Besides, Pogtopia doesn’t have much left anymore. Quackity, their acting leader, is dead.”

Tommy’s mind goes blank for a second, mind refusing to process the sudden information. He licks his dry lips and laughs nervously. “You’re joking.”

Dream gives him a look of pity. “I’m not, Tommy. I’m sorry. I know how close you and Quackity were.”

“That’s not–“ Tommy sobs. “You’re lying. _Dream_ , tell me you’re lying. Big Q’s not dead, he’s not–“

Tommy, the epitome of freedom and sun, curled up in front of Dream like a scared child is a treat to the eyes. Those blue eyes that used to be livelier than any other soul on the server were glistening with tears and the loud grin he usually sported is in a trembling pout. Dream sighs pitifully and scoops Tommy up in his arms, cradling him back and forth to calm him down.

“Sweet boy,” he murmurs. “I know this must be hard for you, but you have to understand me. I know I promised to fight with you, but with the way things are going now, it’s not safe for you to be above ground.”

“But Tubbo,” Tommy whimpers, clutching onto the green hoodie. He looks up at Dream with round blue eyes, full of grief and sorrow. “I can save him too… I–I can save everyone… Just let me– Just let me—”

“Oh Toms.” Dream sighs and brushes away the blonde hair that falls on his fair face. “Tubbo says he doesn’t need you there. I think he’s mad at you.”

Tommy’s breath hitches in his throat. “Tubbo…?” He echoes fearfully. “Mad at me? Wh–Why?”

“When I visited him earlier, he got mad and started saying how you basically just ran off with your brothers so you can escape Pogtopia– “

“No, that can’t be!” Tommy’s brows furrow in confusion. “He was so happy when I came back! He– He hugged me first! He said he missed me! I don’t get it!”

Dream musters the saddest look he can manage. “I don’t get it either, Toms. He keeps saying stuff about how you started all of this, said something about you and Wilbur messing the server up. Tommy, they suspect there’s a traitor among them, and Tubbo thinks it’s you.”

“But I’m– I’m barely even there!”

“Exactly.”

Tommy stays silent for a minute, wrapped up in Dream’s hands. The tight feeling in his chest seems to get even more suffocating every second and he bites down on his lip to prevent any more crying, but he bites down too hard and blood springs up to the surface.

“It’s not my—” Tommy drops down his head into Dream’s chest and he, in turn, hugs the trembling child closer. “It’s not my fault… I tried really hard to make Wilbur and everyone else happy… I thought– I thought I was being a good soldier. I tried my best!” Tommy wails and cries into Dream’s clothes while he strokes his hair calmly. “I tried so hard! I don’t– I was just following orders! This isn’t my fault! It’s not my fault!”

“It was never your fault, Toms. You were just being a good kid without realizing what was happening.” Tommy whimpers and holds Dream closer than he already can. “And I know you tried your best. It must have been tiring for you, bubba, so just rest up here for a while.”

And Tommy drifts into a feverish sleep, the black even blacker behind his eyelids. He’s thankful for the warmth Dream provides.

* * *

“Dream,” Quackity’s voice trembles as he’s backed into a corner. “ _Dream_ , stop this right at once.”

“No can do, _Big Q_.” Dream’s lips curl into a cruel grin behind his mask. “I’ve written the script. I just need you to act the part. After all, I wouldn’t dare lie to my own little brother.” He hefts the axe on his shoulder. “So this is goodbye for you.”

When the other members of Pogtopia come back from another fight to see their leader’s corpse sprawled in their own blood, the night that comes after is sleepless and cold.

* * *

“I know you killed him, Dream!” Tubbo screams at him, eyes red and splotchy from all the crying he’s done. Dream stands a few meters across him, indifferent as he shifts his weight from one foot to another. He really should be on his way, but this… _child_ had to come and stop him. “What do you have to say for yourself?!”

“I don’t need to say anything to you,” Dream says blankly. “Besides, I told him that Quackity’s dead, I just needed to bring that to life.”

“Him?” Tubbo cries out confusedly. “Who’s him– _Tommy_.” Tubbo stares at him, agape. “You have Tommy with you! Where is he?! I need to– I need to find him. I need to bring him back!”

“Tommy is not going anywhere and that’s final.” Dream is firm in his stand. “You’re in a war with Manburg and I’m not letting him anywhere near your petty fights.”

“Petty?” Tubbo gasps. His jaw clenches as he settles Dream with a piercing glare. “ _Petty?_ L’Manburg is anything but petty. Tommy challenged you to a duel and died for her independence, he gave you the discs for her independence and you say it’s petty?! I’ll fucking—”

“You’ll do nothing,” Dream cuts him off. “This is getting boring, Tubbo. Anger doesn’t suit you as well as it does Tommy. I’m off.”

* * *

It’s so lonely and dark down here where the obsidian walls seem to close in every passing second. The darkness offers Tommy no solace and he can hardly get a grip on what is real or not anymore, not that it really mattered when he couldn’t see or feel anything.

The breaking of blocks and the squeak of an iron trapdoor snap him out of his dissociative trance. Light shines through the hole and Dream drops down.

 _Light_. Tommy forces himself to stand, weak and shaky his knees may be. _Dream._ He tries to make his way toward Dream only to fall and hit his face on the obsidian floor. The pain is a welcome heat after the numbness and cold of this obsidian prison and Tommy lets himself revel in it for a little while longer.

“Oh, Toms,” Dream sighs and carefully picks up the weak child off the floor and sets him on his bed. He sets a torch right next to his bed and Tommy stretches out a pale hand to feel the heat of the fire. “You’re too weak right now. Don’t force yourself to do anything brash.”

“Where were you?” Tommy meekly asks. “You’ve been gone for _days_. I missed you.”

Dream stifles a chuckle at his brother’s pout. “Days? It’s only been five hours, Toms.”

 _Five hours only?_ The dark must be screwing with his brain already.

“Doesn’t matter,” Tommy grumbles. “I missed you. It’s so lonely and dark here.”

“I know,” Dream swipes a thumb over his cheeks. “I won’t be leaving for a while. Let’s get you bathed and I’ll cook some food for you. What do you want?”

“Mushroom stew.” The Admin gives Tommy a look.

“Mushroom stew?”

“Mushroom stew, please.” Dream coos and gives his forehead a peck.

“Good boy,” he purrs and smiles when Tommy preens at the praise. “You’re gonna be a good little brother for me, won’t you?”

Tommy nods weakly, round blue eyes meeting Dream’s fond green ones. “I will.”

* * *

If there’s anything you need to know about Dream, is that he is a liar who takes pleasure in seeing confusion and pain in the faces of others.

Oh, he is drunk on power, alright. What were the Creators thinking when they chose him to be an Admin of the server? Someone so inhumane, so bloodthirsty and cunning was obviously not a good pick if they wanted a fair ruler. The universe is cruel, but Dream is even crueler.

But power tends to lose its glimmer, and Dream finds himself for yearning a family that could warm him like how the sun warms the grass during summer. George and Sapnap were his friends, sure, but were they really family? They didn’t ultimately bend to his will and he usually finds himself getting irritated rather than feeling warm in their presence.

Tommy, however, is the missing piece. But Dream knows he had to take extra steps in breaking the boy down before he could finally call him the perfect little brother.

Five hours didn’t hold a candle to five days Dream left the poor child starving and cold 50 blocks underneath the ground. Three days of nothing but the silence and darkness overwhelming yet numbing the senses at the same time. He knows how much the boy must be suffering all alone and though it should hurt his heart to even imagine how much pain he must be going through, Dream could only anticipate in glee the tears that would spring to Tommy’s baby blue eyes and the shaking, pouting lips as he tries to hold back his tears.

Tommy is just so unbearably cute it’s unbelievable. He’s the perfect mold for the brother of his dreams.

When he had jumped down from the opening and met a trembling Tommy trying his best to walk to him and collapse to the floor, a content sigh spills from Dream’s lips.

Truly, Tommy did not disappoint. Even when Dream scooped him up in his arms and settled him on the bed, he continued to cling to his shirt and cry silent tears.

 _Good boy_ , he cooed. The glow from his brother that came after the praise was too adorable for his heart.

* * *

“I need to find Tommy,” Tubbo whispers to himself. The words that come from his mouth are frantic and fleeting, teetering the edge of sanity and insanity. His frantic brown eyes scan the papers filled with his own messy handwriting. The letters blur and dance around, too long and too messy for Tubbo to comprehend, but he forces himself to. “I need to find Tommy!”

The other members of Pogtopia stare at their leader in both pity and worry. Niki steps forward. “Tubbo,” she calls out softly. “Tommy is nowhere to be seen. He might be dead for all we know.” She puts a hand on his shoulder. “We need to focus on the war—”

Tubbo slaps her hand away and Niki stumbles back from the force and stares at him in shock. “He’s not dead!” He screams at her, chest heaving up and down. “He’s not fucking dead! I won’t– I won’t allow it!”

“It’s been a month, Tubbo!” Fundy yells back. “It’s been a month and all our search parties haven’t seen any clues about his whereabouts! While we’re wasting our time on useless searching, Schlatt is plotting to kill all of us one by one! We’re never gonna take L’Manburg at this rate!”

“Shut the fuck up, traitor,” Tubbo seethes at him. “L’Manburg is never gonna matter as long as Tommy’s gone! He’s the only reason why I fight for that stupid piece of land! He’s– He’s–“ A sob escapes the boy and he sinks down to his knees. “He’s not dead, surely not. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if he is. I just saw him a month ago and he was so happy to be back… I can’t let him die.”

“I’m sorry, Tubbo.” Eret places a comforting hand that Tubbo’s too weak to slap away. He looks at the sobbing boy regretfully. “Dream must have… Dream must have killed him.”

The silence is too heavy with the truth Tubbo refuses to face.

* * *

“Dream?” Tommy whines from the bed. The older boy looks back at him and smiles when he sees his dull eyes staring up at him. “You’re leaving?”

“Not now, bubba.” Dream takes his spot next to Tommy and the boy cozies up to him. “Are you feeling better now?”

“N-Not really.” Tommy plays with the string of his hoodie and tugs on them. “I only feel better when you’re around.”

“Oh?” He looks down at Tommy questioningly. “What do you mean by that?”

“W-Well, everything is always so cold and dark down here by myself.” Dream hums and brings Tommy closer to his side. He hugs Dream tighter in response. “But when you come, it feels very warm and it’s not so dark anymore! Like a– Like a–“ Tommy furrows his brow to recall the glowing orb that floats on the sky during the day. “Ah!” Tommy grins up at Dream.

“You’re like a sun!”

“Like a sun, you say?” Dream laughs and ruffles his hair. “You think I’m a sun?”

“Yes!”

Dream laughs even louder and presses a kiss on Tommy’s hair. “Then how about this. Do you want to see the real sun again, Toms?”

His eyes widen at the preposition, and he looks up at Dream like he can hardly believe it. “You mean…” He gulps down. “I can– I can go outside?”

“Of course!” Dream happily exclaims. “You can go back outside and we can go fishing and play together and build another home for ourselves! How does that sound?”

“Yes! Yes, yes!” Oh, how that heart-warming smile of Tommy never ceases to amaze Dream. “I wanna go back outside!”

“Of course, you can go back outside, Toms, but I’m going to ask you one thing.” He looks into Tommy’s eyes. “Will you do anything for me?”

“Anything for you, Dream!” Tommy smiles widely at him. “I’ll do absolutely anything!”

* * *

Tubbo stares at them with both shock and betrayal.

He watches as the mysterious red-hooded figure wearing an identical porcelain mask with Dream takes it off and runs towards Dream with the widest grin on his face.

“Dream!” He hears Tommy shout happily. He tackles Dream into a giant hug and stares up at him with the grin. “Look, look! I exploded a lot stuff up! Did I do good?”

He watches when Dream, for the first time in a long time, takes off his mask just to get a clear view of Tommy’s bright smile and ruffle his blonde hair. The look of fondness on his face is just too human for Dream to wear.

“Tommy! You did so well!” Dream swings Tommy around and smiles down happily at them. “Were you the one who pressed the button?”

“I was, I was!” Tommy nods excitedly. “I blew everything up! Wilbur showed me the room before so I know where it was!”

Tubbo steps forward, heart in throat. “Tommy?” He weakly calls out. The two brothers stop their celebrating to stare blankly at the tattered teen. Tubbo’s heart shatters into a million pieces.

Those aren’t Tommy’s eyes. Those are too dull and too empty to be Tommy’s.

“Why’d you do this?” He searches Tommy’s face for something, _anything_ , but his best friend doesn’t do anything but stare at him. “I thought you loved L’Manburg? Why did you—”

Tommy’s face breaks out in a grin and hugs Dream tightly. “Well, I love Dream more. And if he tells me to blow everything up, I’ll do it.”

Dream’s smug smile feels like acid on Tubbo’s tongue.

He’s won again.

Why was Tubbo even surprised?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok listen i know dream killing quackity may seem unnecessary but whenever I lie, I take the extra steps to make it seem like I actually told the truth (ex, not answering phone calls when I tell my mom I don't have my phone with me, smearing sauce on the plate to make it seem like I ate) so it kinda makes sense when u look at it that way
> 
> because imagine dream letting tommy going back out and finding out that quackity's actually alive and that'll prolly stir some doubt in him... yknow??
> 
> also if u see the quality in chapters decreasing... shhh you didn't see shit


	15. end 3 - trio (1/2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and to think he loved them all.

Tommy thinks of what would have come of his life had he not taken the invite to the Dream SMP.

Dreadfully dreary, he’d imagine. To be stuck in his home server, sawing away at wood and collecting resources for his father’s grand projects. But in exchange for the lack of adventure he’d be showered in his father’s love and affection and wake up under a solid roof on a warm bed. There’d never be a day where he’d go hungry and he’d live the rest of his days never knowing sadness.

He left that domestic lifestyle behind to taste the thrill of adventure as the rest of his family had done. The SMP was more exciting than he thought, perhaps _too_ exciting. The dirt shack that he lived in was always damp and dreary, and even when he upgraded it to smooth stone it never seemed to be as warm as their little woodland cottage. But there were new places to discover, new people to fight, and Tommy had forsaken the warmth of a family to chase after perilous heights and dangerous mobs.

Right here, right now, where Techno points a sword at Dream’s neck and Wilbur kneels in front of him expectantly, Tommy doesn’t have the energy to choose like how he did anymore. He just wants to be whisked away with whatever fate life decides to throw at him. Whether he lands at the hands of his more than overbearing brothers or at the feet of his twice-murderer, he doesn’t care anymore.

Tommy’s made lots of decisions before, but every single one of them turned out to be for the worse. If this is how it’s going to be, then it should be best for him to just give up.

Give up. Tommy— hard-headed, loud, defiant— giving up? Betray him a couple of times and it’s more likely than you think.

“Tommy?” Wilbur calls out, leaning forward and tilting his head to the side. “Toommmyyy~?” When his youngest brother offers no reply, he frowns in dissatisfaction.

If only the Tommy of the past could see him now, all curled up and weak in the corner of the room. Tommy could picture his past self scoffing and glaring down at him, hands on his hips as he starts to yell, “TommyInnit _never_ gives up! I’m a big man! Stop being a pussy and fight back!”

… Fight back?

The shock of learning that your savior would have drugged you the moment you stepped out of line sapped the life out of Tommy’s body, leaving him too weak and trembling to even lift a finger. He couldn’t even fight back if he tried! He’s too—

“Like that’s ever stopped you, you big pussy,” his voice scoffs somewhere in the back of his mind. “Come on, you’ve led wars, haven’t you? You can do this. You’re not as stupid as you think.”

Sometimes, Tommy liked himself. Today is one of those days.

Slowly, Tommy unfurls himself from his ball and slowly stands up. His legs still feel like they’re about to buckle out from underneath him at any second now, but he still forces himself to stand back up like ho he’s always done before. Wilbur also stands to his feet and grins at Tommy.

“Good boy! We can go back home to Phil now, alright? We—” When Wilbur reaches out an arm to ruffle Tommy by his hair, Tommy slaps it away and locks his brother with a hardened glare.

“All of you can leave me the _fuck_ alone.”

And soon he makes a mad dash for the door and to the world outside, running as fast as his jelly legs can take him.

The anger on Wilbur’s face is too hideous to be described with words, only that it was nothing like the world has ever seen before. He whips his head to Techno and hisses, “Drop that bastard down now and get Tommy. _Quick_!”

Techno, despite hating taking orders from any of his family members except Phil, nods, and runs after Tommy with the speed of a warrior trained. Dream coughs and holds his throat to feel the blood trickling down from the shallow cut before readjusting his mask and wasting no time to sprint after Techno and Tommy. Wilbur could only stare at his fast disappearing back as he continued down deeper into the forest.

It doesn’t matter, Wilbur thinks to himself. So long as Tommy doesn’t escape.

* * *

There are footsteps just right behind him, thundering and weighty as Techno chases after Tommy through the forestry. Techno is silent for the whole duration of the chase and yet even with only their combined huffing and puffing in the air, he manages to still be as intimidating and looming as ever.

But he won’t let Techno get to him, no. This is his last grasp at freedom, to try and break free from these psychopaths who claim to love him and promise to take care of him. Tommy grits his teeth and pushes his legs to go even faster, ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth. And to think he loved each of them once.

Tommy has healed during his time at Dream’s house when all he could do was sweep, eat, drink, and sleep. He’s not quite as strong as he used to be, but he’s still healthy. He had always been faster than Techno, who was more brawny than agile. he can escape them.

But the trees above him rustle and Tommy’s instincts tell him there’s a second person chasing him and his hopes start to dull. This one feels more carefree, more… _sadistic_ , like he’s enjoying the chase for the sake of the thrill.

“Oh, Tommy~” Dream croons from the branches above and Tommy pales.

He’s seen Dream during his manhunt games, where he’d turn the tides and go from hunted to hunter. He’s light on his feet, quick with his brain, and most importantly—

**He’s cruel.**

Dream lands on his feet right in front of Tommy and he immediately skids to a halt. He feels Techno’s red eyes burning on his back and dread wraps Tommy’s heart in a vice grip.

His savior pulls his mask to the side and grins at Tommy.

“Not good enough.”

He kicks Tommy in the stomach and he hits the ground with a great thud. Tommy clutches his stomach and curls before Dream kicks Tommy again and finally holds his throat down with the heel of his boot. Tommy tries to look up and his body stiffens.

Why were those kind green eyes so cruel today?

“Dream,” Techno snaps. He walks towards Tommy and glares at his archrival. “Get your feet off him.”

“No way.” Dream sounds so casual as he applies even more pressure and Tommy starts to choke. “If I let him go, you’ll immediately grab him and take him away to wherever your old man is and I don’t want that.”

Techno scowls. “Why are you so obsessed with Tommy anyway? You’re not his brother.”

“Not his brother?” Dream scoffs. “These last couple of weeks I’ve been more of a brother to Tommy than both of you and Wilbur combined. Besides—” He flashes Tommy a condescending smile while the light seeps out of his blue eyes. “Look at Toms. He’s too adorable for his own good. The moment he entered the server, I knew that he’d be the one thing I’d never be able to have: a perfect younger brother.” He directs the smile to Techno. “And now I’ll finally break him in enough to get that.”

Techno stays silent throughout Dream’s whole monologue. Dream didn’t feel like the normal charismatic man like he thought the archrival he thought he’d be. That’s why they were such perfect enemies: Techno, the silent yet lethal blade, and Dream, the hunter who drew in crowds with his skill and smarts. But right now, Dream didn’t seem like Dream and felt more akin to Wilbur than ever.

“… You want him as your docile little brother,” Techno repeats and Dream nods a little too enthusiastically. He huffs and turns his back to him.

“You and Wilbur would probably get along better than I originally thought.”

* * *

Wilbur stands up immediately from his chair where he was silently stewing in both anger and irritation. The balls Tommy had to ever shove and run past him! The urge to destroy something (preferably by blowing it up) felt too strong to manage before he calmed himself down with memories of his past Tommy, the youngest brother who would do _anything_ for his big brothers.

 _It’s gonna be okay_ , Wilbur soothed himself. _You’ll get that Tommy back and he’ll be yours to keep._

“Techno!” He yells out as he exits the cottage. He furrows his brows when he doesn’t see his brother in the hybrid’s arms. “Where’s Tommy?”

Techno stares back at him for a second before sighing and stepping to the side. Dream holds Tommy in a cradle’s embrace. There is a noticeable bruise forming around his throat but Wilbur doesn’t bother commenting on it when he’s more irritated at the fact that this green goblin is the one holding his brother.

He turns to the middle child angrily. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

Techno shrugs back and simply reply, “A truce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y-y’all wanna chat? 🥺👉👈 hmu at assumed dead#0169
> 
> im chill and u don’t have to worry about getting me mad or triggered., im a-ok
> 
> and if there’s any dsmp discord servers out there on ao3 you might want more members in feel free to advertise it,,, I wanna interact with other dsmp fans guys I’m so lonely


	16. discord server!

**discord server announcement!**

i know you are disappointed, you are probably scowling at your screen, irritated that this author would _dare_ clog up your email with a mere discord server announcement. and when i say i am truly, _truly_ sorry, please keep it in mind that this apology comes from my whole heart.

but i am a lonely author, and fuck, i want _**friends**_. so please come and join my dry discord server:

https://discord.gg/9q8jXyGbbh

we geek out over dream smp and recommend fics and just be friends! it's a chill server, no strictness whatsoever just come relax we don't do controversies here!! it's a dry desert for now, but if a lot of you join in, then it'll be an oasis! come please

~~yo I'm so unbelievably i _will_ get down on my knees just to see at least 10 of you in this server _please_~~


End file.
